At a New York City Planning Commission review session this week, the staff at New York City Department of City Planning recommended a 15-year limit on the permit extension for Madison Square Garden (MSG), which would be an “aggressive but realistic” time frame to reach an agreement on the future of the arena. This gives MSG a few more years to come up with a plan for relocation or extensive improvements than the proposed 10-year renewal recommended by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. Look for an extended story on the fate of Madison Square Garden in the next print issue of AN. (Photo: Wally Gobetz / Flickr)
Opposition to Madison Square Gardens Heating Up
Madison Square Garden. (Thanos Papavasiliou / Flickr)
Madison Square Garden has been on the move since its inception in 1879 as a 10,000-square-foot boxing, bike racing, and ice hockey venue in an old railroad depot at Madison Avenue and 26th Street. The facility later moved into an ornate Moorish-style building designed by famed Stanford White, architect of the Penn Station, which the arena notoriously replaced at its fourth and current home on 33rd Street in Midtown (after a brief stop on 50th Street). Now, if community boards, civic and planning groups, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer get their way, the venue will be sent packing once again.
No Slam Dunk for Madison Square Garden: Community Board Refuses Arena’s Use Permit
Madison Square Garden. (Courtesy doriandsp/Flickr)
It has been a rough year for Madison Square Garden. First, upstaged by the arrival of the brand new Barclays Center, and now, the Penn-station-topping arena faces an uphill battle to renew a permit that allows it to function as a sports venue after Manhattan’s Community Board 5 voted down the extension request.
MSG Buys Midcentury LA Forum Arena
Historic image of the LA Forum. (hmdavid/Flickr)
For months rumors have swirled that developer Madison Square Garden Co. (MSG) would buy the midcentury modern LA Forum arena in Inglewood, former home of the LA Lakers and LA Kings. (Its architect, Charles Luckman, also designed Madison Square Garden.) That deal is now official, according to Crain’s New York, who said the company just paid $23 million for the property. MSG will begin a “comprehensive renovation” of the arena later this year, and details of that job will be released this fall. The company is currently working on an $850 million renovation of Madison Square Garden, itself a taxing job that is set to be done by next year.
Hold the MSG: Renovations Hurting Arena’s Profits
Madison Square Garden under renovation. (Courtesy Madison Square Garden)
The three year cycle of summertime renovations at Madison Square Garden is starting to eat away at its bottom line. The renovation schedule has prevented some big name events booking the arena, resulting in 39 percent drop in earning for the second quarter. At a cost of nearly $850 million (up from initial projections of around $500 mil), renovations won’t be done until 2013. Work that began this past April at the end of the Knicks’ season involved refurbishing the lower seating bowl will wrap up in October. Future work will redo the upper seating bowl and add bridges above the arena’s ceiling. [Deadline via Real Deal]
White Love Lair in Foreclosure
You naughty, naughty architect. (Courtesy The Real Deal)
Sure, there are lots of foreclosures sweeping the city, sadly to say, but none is quite like 22 West 24th Street. Beyond the property’s current $82,987 in back taxes, an ownership fight between an infirm mother and her mentally challenged son, a 2003 fire and 2007 collapse, the property is also the location of renowned architect Stanford White‘s dalliances with a married 16-year-old girl over 100 years ago, according to an article in The Real Deal today. Read More
Advertise on The Architect's Newspaper.
Archives
Categories
Architecture
Design
East Coast
Midwest
National
Planning
Shft+Alt+Del
Sustainability
Transportation
West Coast
