The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will lease air rights over its bus terminal in Midtown Manhattan for 99 years to 20 X Square Associates LLC for $500 million, the agency announced last week. 20 X Square, a joint venture of Vornado Realty Trust and Lawrence Ruben Co., plans to build a 1.3-square-foot office tower over the bus terminal. In addition, the developer will build 18 new bus gates and upgrade existing gates to increase capacity by 18% and will create 60,000 square feet of retail space at the terminal. The terminal currently handles 7,000 buses and 200,000 commuters each day.The Port Authority plans to use part of the rental payments, which will be paid out over the term of the lease, to build a new $545 million bus garage nearby.“This is an example of the Port Authority leveraging its facilities to expand mass transit and satisfy the needs of its customers,” chairman Anthony R. Coscia said in a press release. “It is a creative public-private partnership that will benefit the entire region. Along with projects to build a new trans-Hudson passenger rail tunnel and a new New York Penn Station, an upgraded bus facility will give west-of-Hudson commuters an improved gateway to the region’s economic core.”
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The county commission said it hopes to regain Moody's ratings this fall.
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Market participants launched the largest lobbying effort in recent memory to protect municipal bonds and got what they wanted as the tax-exemption survived.
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UST yields rose across the curve in response to the employment report with the two-year rising nearly 10 basis points while municipals largely ignored the moves and ratios fell as a result.
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Oregon Department of Transportation leaders said they will begin layoffs Monday after lawmakers adjourned without passing a transportation funding bill.
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"If you are seeking the services of a municipal advisor, it would be helpful to use the term municipal advisor in your RFP/Qs," said Sanchez, director of the SEC's Office of Municipal Securities.
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The growth of the muni market comes as issuance surges, with the first half of the year seeing $280.64 billion of supply, up 14.3% year-over-year, according to LSEG.
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