By Stephen Jacob Smith 5/14 7:20pm

PATH to Ruin

path

PATH/Fail: The Story of the World’s Most Expensive Train Station

The Port Authority used to set records in good ways. The George Washington Bridge was a marvel of engineering in its day, the world’s longest bridge when it was built, and still the busiest. The Port Authority Bus Terminal, opened in 1950, is to this day the largest on earth by passenger volume.

But today, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey doesn’t brag about the records it sets. One World Trade Center, born the Freedom Tower and taken over by the Port in 2006, will be the most expensive office building in the world. The “Vehicle Security Center,” an underground tour bus garage and road network serving the World Trade Center complex, may very well be the most expensive parking garage in history.

And then there’s the PATH station to New Jersey, the most troubled project at one of the world’s most troubled construction sites. At $3.74 billion, plus another $200 million in contingencies, the “Transportation Hub” at the World Trade Center—not even the busiest station in the Financial District—will be far and away the most expensive train station built in modern history. Read More

By Stephen Jacob Smith 6:20pm

Planes Trains & Automobiles

Calatrava no nos la clava: Santiago Calatrava won't be participating in the Municipal Art Society's "provocation" on Penn Station.

Calatrava Not Participating in Municipal Art Society’s Penn Station ‘Provocation’ After All

Earlier this month, the Municipal Art Society announced a “provocation” for Penn Station, challenging four architecture firms—Diller Scofidio + Renfro, SHoP Architects, SOM and Santiago Calatrava—to rethink the city’s most hated transit hub. The selection of Mr. Calatrava’s firm as a participant, shall we say, provoked some controversy, with blogger Ben Kabak at Second Avenue Sagas telling The Observer, “Even involving Calatrava underscores the utter contempt for transit improvements that some of the city’s leading institutions have.” At over $3.7 billion, the PATH terminal that Mr. Calatrava designed for the World Trade Center site will be far and away the most expensive subway station in world history.

So Mr. Kabak should be pleased to learn that Mr. Calatrava’s firm is not, in fact, participating in the effort. Santiago Calatrava’s firm sent the following statement to The Observer via email this afternoon: Read More

By Stephen Jacob Smith 4/08 10:15am

Planes Trains & Automobiles

At $3.7 billion, Santiago Calatrava's World Trade Center PATH terminal will be the world's most expensive subway station when completed.

Municipal Art Society Thinks Calatrava Deserves a Second Chance

Santiago Calatrava does not have the best reputation when it comes to designing practical public works. The Valencian architect has achieved great success in winning design commissions across the globe—especially for public works projects like bridges, train stations and cultural centers—but has also attracted criticism for his budget-busting designs.

Mr. Calatrava is practically a persona non grata in Valencia (he is now based in Zurich), where the leftist Esquerra Unida political party has started a website called Calatrava te la clava—loosely translated as “Calatrava bleeds you dry”—on which it accuses the architect of making 100 million euros off the Valencian City of Arts and Sciences, a cultural complex that is widely seen as a symbol of excess, built during Spain’s boom years but now a drain on the government’s finances as it undergoes a period of fiscal austerity. Read More

By Robert Gottlieb 5/25/10 7:57pm

City Ballet’s Overstuffed New Spring Season

City Ballet is doing everything it can to cope with its annual problem: how to stimulate box office in its traditionally weaker spring season. They’ve reduced the number of performance weeks from nine to eight. They’ve programmed seven-that’s right, seven-premieres of new works. They’ve planned four-that’s right, four-galas to celebrate the retirement of four principal Read More

By Max Abelson 11/11/08 6:08pm

The Power Builder

Location: This is a horribly anxious time to be in New York real estate, especially if you’re one of the city’s biggest builders. What keeps you up at night?

Mr. Sciame: I like to say that I sleep like a baby: I sleep for two hours and I cry for two hours. Only kidding. Read More

By Tom Acitelli 9/26/08 12:50pm

Disbelief About Calatrava Hub Scale-Back

"I don’t believe this! Other countries would build somithing like this if they experienced a massive terrorist attack.I think that it is a disgrace that the port authority wants to simplify this hub because it costs too much money.This would truly be a beautiful hub if it was built. How could the Port Authority become Read More

By Eliot Brown 9/26/08 12:03am

Agreement Near on Modestly Simplified Calatrava WTC Hub

With a report due in just one week that sets new timetables for the World Trade Center redevelopment, a decision is near on one of the most complex–and controversial–elements at the site, the multibillion dollar PATH hub.

The Santiago Calatrava-designed station has been a massive headache for officials and engineers since at least early 2007, Read More