MTA Unveils $75 Million in Construction Deals to Keep Park Avenue Sturdy

The underpinnings of Park Avenue that lead into Grand Central Terminal will be getting a major overhaul.

The MTA on Dec. 16, said it has reached two new public-private partnerships totaling $75 million with JPMorganChase and Vornado Realty Trust that will rebuild stretches of the so-called “train shed” that are crucial supports beneath Park Avenue as the roadway approaches the historic terminal.

The pedestrian malls on top will also be remodeled to make them more pedestrian- friendly. The train shed, which supports Park Avenue, is in “rough shape” because major renovations have been neglected for years, said MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber at a press conference in front of the new JPMorganChase HQ at 270 Park Ave.

”It’s been subjected to water, salt, and chemicals for over a hundred years,” Lieber said.. “There are areas when you’re in the train shed where you actually see the sky because the concrete is falling, it’s eroding, it’s falling apart. We cannot let this go on.”

MTA officials estimate the train shed supports 70 square blocks, where 200,000 employees work in 73 million square feet of prime commercial real estate. Lieber said JPMorganChase will handle Sector 2, from East 46th to East 50th Street, and kick in $50 million, while real estate developer Vornado Realty Trust will handle Sector 3, from East 50th to East 53rd Street and contribute $25 million.

JPMorganChase had already partnered with the MTA in rebuilding Sector 1. Lieber said that while the MTA has been making spot repairs for years, it did not have the funds for major renovations until now.

The project is part of a $1.7-billion component of the 2025-2029 MTA Capital Plan. In this case, the money is being used to rebuild the line from Grand Central all the way to the Harlem River at 133rd Street. At the upper point of the train shed, at 57th Street, trains entering the Terminal are sorted to passenger platforms, where 98 percent of Metro-North trains go on a daily basis. On Park Avenue, above the train shed work, the project also calls for the reconstruction of the center Park Avenue malls, or medians, to make them more pedestrian-friendly. This is being done cooperatively with the city Department of Transportation, which is leading the design effort for the new malls.

With good management integration between Chase and the MTA, the rebuilding of Sector 1 came in $20 million under budget and is on track for substantial completion by the end of 2026, Lieber said.

New partner Vornado will play a similar role for Sector 3 of the train shed work, running from East 50th to East 53rd Street. This work will be undertaken in coordination with Vornado, Citadel’s Ken Griffin, and Rudin Management’s reconstruction of 350 Park Avenue as a supertall office tower. That work received rezoning approval earlier this year, and construction should start next year. Vornado will manage the day-to-day construction activities on this part of the train shed reconstruction.

Jamie Torres-Springer, MTA Construction & Development president, pointed out that five years ago, construction plans called for 35 years of spot repairs to fix the line from from Grand Central Terminal to the Harlem River. With the 2025-2029 MTA Capital Plan and the public-private partnerships, he said he expects 56 percent of the work will be done by the end of the decade.

NYC Council Member Keith Powers, who is the Democratic nominee in the special election for an East Side State Assembly seat, attended the press conference and noted: “This public-private partnership can serve as a model for how businesses and the MTA can partner to deliver transformational projects in our city. I look forward to seeing the many ways this project will strengthen our city.”