Proposals for Hudson Yards Reach High, Green

Standout features among the grand proposals for the development of the 26-acre rail yards on the far West Side of Manhattan include two buildings connected at the 25th floor by a glass running track, six towers designed to angle light into a 19-acre park, and an elevated pedestrian walkway described as the "21st century version of the High Line."

Detailed renderings and architectural models from the developers that have made bids to redevelop the Hudson rail yards will be on view starting today at a storefront near Grand Central Terminal as part of a hastily organized, two-week public comment period for the project.

Since a plan for a football stadium at the site was defeated in 2005, the Bloomberg administration has been working on a plan to build Manhattan's third major commercial district on a platform over the rail yards, which are owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

In May, the city and the MTA released a set of guidelines for the area, including the creation of a cultural center and breakdowns of commercial, residential, and public space. Five of the city's most active and deep-pocketed developers responded with offers that would give the MTA hundreds of millions of dollars for the development rights.

At a press preview yesterday, the developers, the Related Companies, Tishman Speyer, Extell Development Company, Brookfield Properties, and a partnership between Vornado and the Durst Organization outlined proposals that would transform the dingy, isolated tract of land into a 21st-century complex of soaring glass buildings and large green spaces.

Perhaps most dramatic is Extell's plan for three towers to be connected by a sloping sky lobby. At 1,238 feet, the tallest of the towers would nearly reach the Empire State Building's 1,250 feet.

Across a park suspended over the rail yards, the proposal calls for a set of six "sun slice" buildings with roofs designed to let light onto a long, uninterrupted green area and sculpture garden.

Brookfield Properties's proposal breaks up the parks into "precincts," each with a different feel, a partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, T.J. Gottesdiener, said.

On the corner near the two residential buildings connected by a glass running track at the 25th floor would be Hudson Green, a large open space with views of the river. On the other side of Eleventh Avenue would be Hudson Place, a green area associated with the cultural center. Between the two large commercial buildings would be an arcade created by crisscrossing structural supports. The focal point of Tishman Speyer's proposal is a large circular area near the cultural center that would be called "The Forum." The public space in their proposal would be designed to allow views of the Empire State Building. Buildings would be in ascending height to maximize light, a senior marketing director with the firm, Thomas Farrell, said.

Both Tishman Speyer and Related Cos. play up their relationships with large tenants willing to move to the new Hudson Yards. Morgan Stanley has agreed to rent 3 million square feet of Tishman Speyer's commercial space, according to the company's proposal.

In its renderings, Related depicts News Corp. as having a large role in the new Hudson Yards. The renderings show 20th Century Fox movie screenings in the park and a MySpace.com concert outside the all-purpose arts center.

The Durst-Vornado proposal includes a glassed-in galleria and an aerial walkway called the "skyline" that one of the architects, Daniel Kaplan of FxFowle, said would be the "21st century version of the High Line."

The proposal drew criticism from a nonprofit group, Friends of the High Line, which is involved in the transformation of the 1.5-mile elevated subway platform into a city park. A co-founder of the group, Robert Hammond, called the plan "mistaken" because it would demolish part of the High Line along Twelfth Avenue. A spokesman for the Durst Organization, Jordan Barowitz, said the developers are open to further discussions on their design.

Officials said yesterday that they were confident this round of public comment would not elicit the same hostility that the city's 2005 stadium proposal received. "We spent months working with elected officials and community leaders before even issuing" the request for proposals, the deputy mayor of economic development and rebuilding, Daniel Doctoroff, said.