Foster + Partners and Epstein tapped to lead Port Authority Bus Terminal replacement project

In a major step forward in a years-long scheme to retire the grime-encrusted snarl of ramps and corridors known as the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has revealed the two-firm team that will lead the design of a sparkly new Midtown Manhattan bus hub: Foster + Partners and the Chicago-headquartered design and engineering firm Epstein. The latter firm has helmed numerous large-scale infrastructure and civic projects and, notably, partnered with FXCollaborative to develop an expansion plan for the nearby Jacob K. Javits Center. As for Foster + Partners, the London-based global firm has numerous high-profile transport projects under its belt.

In a statement, Port Authority executive director Rick Cotton referred to the architectural team as “exceptional” and noted that their selection demonstrates that the bi-state agency is “laser-focused on building a truly visionary world-class facility worthy of the region, prioritizing both bus riders and the community surrounding the bus terminal.”

The two firms will “provide architectural design services for the replacement project beginning immediately and throughout the design phase and the environmental review of the proposed project,”a news release detailed.

The bus terminal replacement project was first announced early last year by the bi-state agency after previous plans and proposals, some of which envisioned burying the terminal underground or relocating it altogether, fizzled. Informed by extensive public feedback, the highly complex current plan, as proposed, involves razing the current bus terminal, an International Style behemoth straddling Eighth and Ninth avenues between 41st and 42nd streets, and constructing a state-of-the-art transit hub within the same footprint.

“New Yorkers and visitors, alike, deserve the best when it comes to transportation infrastructure, and today’s announcement brings us one step closer to a world-class Midtown Bus Terminal,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who has used choice words to describe another aging, labyrinthine Manhattan transit hub. “As we continue to build back from the pandemic, it’s vital that we create state-of-the-art transportation hubs to get commuters to their destinations safely and efficiently.”

The LEED-targeting new facility would be equipped with a bevy of bells and whistles—electric bus charging stations, sensor-based monitoring systems, heat recovery reuse, and more—and designed to accommodate larger vehicles, which the outdated current terminal cannot. It would increase intercity and bus capacity by 40 percent. Also envisioned is a separate storage and staging facility accommodating intercity buses, which currently pick up and drop off passengers on nearby local streets, as well as a decked ramp structure linking the terminal with the Lincoln Tunnel that would be topped with a 3.5-acre swath of public green space. On the street-level, the new terminal will be ringed with “community-friendly” retail space.

“We are delighted to be appointed to the project, continuing to develop and maintain a unified vision for the Midtown Bus Terminal in Manhattan,” said Juan Vieira-Pardo, partner at Foster + Partners, in a statement. “Already the world’s busiest bus terminal, the project also has the potential to become the most desirable destination in Midtown.”

The likelihood that a bus terminal will become the “most desirable destination in Midtown” as Vieira-Pardo claims is, well, a stretch. But there’s no arguing that the new facility will be a vast improvement. The current Port Authority Bus Terminal (apparently the agency doesn’t want its name attached to the facility in its new iteration) is, as mentioned by Vieira-Pardo, the world’s largest and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The original terminal, now known as the South Wing, first debuted in 1950 to acclaim; it gained a three-level vertical parking deck in the early 1960s, followed by the North Wing annex in 1979. Although things have vastly improved since the rough-and-tumble 1970s and 80s when the Times Square–adjacent terminal and the area around it had what can only be described as a reputation, the complex itself—dark, dank, disorienting—remains (almost) universally loathed. Still, the much-hated on facility is a vital regional transit hub, particularly for New Jersey residents commuting into Manhattan for work. Based on pre-pandemic ridership trends, demand through 2040 is expected to increase by 30 percent.

The construction of the new terminal will be a carefully phased process as it directly replaces the current one. “Tentative plans call for a phased construction approach with the staging and bus storage facility to occur first, so that it can serve as a temporary terminal while the existing terminal is being demolished and rebuilt,” the Port Authority explained. “The decking over of sections of Dyer Avenue would occur early in the phased construction also providing temporary bus staging locations while the main bus terminal is completely rebuilt. Once completed, the decked over areas of Dyer Avenue would become important public green space that reknits the local community.”

While the new Midtown Bus Terminal would rise on the same site as the existing terminal, the larger redevelopment proposal calls for the construction of a quartet of high-rise towers in the immediate vicinity: One on Eighth Avenue between 41st and 42nd streets; one on Ninth Avenue between 40th and 41st streets; one on 11th Avenue between 39th and 40th streets; and one on 10th Avenue between 39th and 40th streets. The development of these towers on Port Authority–owned property would help to finance the ambitious $10 billion project via the sale of air rights. An estimated $3 billion will come from the Port Authority’s capital budget; the agency is also seeking federal funding.

As for the project’s current status, it is now entering the federal National Environmental Policy Act review stage. As this process moves along, “ongoing planning conversations and public outreach will increase stakeholder engagement,” explained the Port Authority. “The process entails the issuance of a draft environment impact statement (EIS), a public hearing and comment period on that document, and an expected release of a final EIS in summer 2023. A decision on the proposal would follow in the form of a Record of Decision.”

In other words, there’s still a long way to go before the current bus terminal comes down and the new one rises. The Port Authority had previously said it hopes to open the new terminal by 2032. AN will share new developments as they emerge.