New York MTA Looks to Suburban TODs as Funding Source

John Surico reports that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro-North Railroad has plans to sell a parcel of land in Harrison, New York, in Westchester County. A private developer will build a transit-oriented, mixed-use development that will include apartments, retail space, pedestrian plazas, and parking.

"The New York MTA, the largest transit agency in the U.S., is becoming more familiar with this type of construction. The Hudson Yards project—where the MTA decked over its train yards, and sold the rights to developers for $1 billion to build an entire Manhattan neighborhood on top, with a new subway line extension beneath—is perhaps the largest TOD project in American history," writes Surico.

Still, he notes that the Harrison development differs from projects in the past because the MTA is looking for revenue sources to help fill major budget gaps. "So the agency is eyeing projects in suburban communities outside of Manhattan, with the hopes that the prospect of economic development will prod smaller towns to plot their futures near its train stations."