Port Authority bus terminal replacement OK’d by city planners – but ‘long overdue’ makeover could take a decade

The Port Authority bus terminal in Midtown finally got the greenlight for a $10 billion “eyesore to eye-popping” transformation Wednesday – but it could take a decade to see major changes.

The City Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve the revamp – which would turn the blighted 1950s-era intrastate stop into a spacious, bright transit hub.

“Even with multiple renovations, the 74-year-old terminal is too old and outmoded to continue effectively serving commuters,” commission Chair Daniel R. Garodnick said prior to the vote. “It struggles at times to handle its current ridership, and we expect ridership to continue to grow into the future.

“It’s far past time for a replacement,” he added.

The Midtown bus terminal, which serves about 65 million commuters a year, is in desperate need of “long overdue” upgrades, vice chairman Kenneth J. Knuckles said. The massive project will set the terminal up to handle more passengers, expand bus storage and offer modern services and amenities for passengers.

The terminal would also get two commercial towers, new retail space and electric charging capabilities. As part of the plan, Midtown West would get wider sidewalks, improved lighting and a new 3.5-acre public open space that will offer a “sorely needed respite in one of the city’s most bustling neighborhoods,” Garodnick said.

“With this truly transformational replacement plan, we can ensure this hub takes its place among our city’s great infrastructure projects and has the capacity to serve New York City’s residents, those who live in neighboring states and those who visit from throughout the country for decades to come,” the chair added.

Up to $2 billion of the project’s cost would be offset by 40 years of tax revenue from the three potential commercial developments, Mayor Eric Adams announced earlier this year. The project will also include Port Authority capital funding for a “significant portion of the cost,” a Port Authority spokesperson said, as well as federal loans, development rights and more.

The bus terminal replacement comes as the Port Authority estimates ridership will increase 50% by 2040.

It will take more than halfway to 2040 to complete the first two phases of construction, according to documents filed by the Manhattan borough president’s office in August. Phase 1 – the construction of a five-story bus storage and staging facility from Ninth Avenue to Tenth Avenue between West 39th and West 40th streets – is slated to take place from early 2025-28. 

That facility would house upwards of 350 buses and keep them off the street during parking and waiting times. 

Phase 2, which will consist of the demolition and construction of the new 2.1 million-square-foot main bus terminal, is projected to last from 2029-32, per the documents. During the construction, the storage and staging facility will serve as a temporary bus station.

An atrium entrance on West 41st Street and Eighth Avenue is also poised to beautify Midtown as part of the project.

“The existing terminal’s shortfalls cannot be understated,” the borough president’s office wrote in August. 

“The current facility does not support modern buses, which are larger now than when the station was first built … To make matters more dire, the terminal’s structural elements are deteriorating. The slabs in the south wing are projected to be obsolete by 2037, and other elements of the facility are aging after 70 years of use.”

The plans will now go to the New York City Council for a review and vote.