Contact: Colleen Roche/Jennifer Chait (212) 788-2958
Susanne Chasanoff (City Planning) (212) 720-3225
The Columbus Centre project will be a twin-towered, 2.1 million square-foot development that will include a first-class retail and entertainment complex, a five-star hotel, and approximately 375 condominium units. Time Warner, Inc. will be a principal owner- occupant of the development and will have both its corporate headquarters and studio space within the development. The project will also be the home of a performance and education facility for Jazz at Lincoln Center, the newest affiliate of Lincoln Center, Inc.
Joining the Mayor at today's announcement were MTA Chairman E. Virgil Conway, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Randy L. Levine, City Planning Commission Chairman Joseph B. Rose, Gordon Davis, Chairman of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jack Goldstein, of the Theater Development Fund and a member of the Mayor's Coliseum Advisory Panel and Community Board 5, and Brendan Sexton, President of the Municipal Art Society.
Mayor Giuliani said, "This building will become an icon in the New York City skyline and will complement the diverse character of the surrounding neighborhoods. This is a great project for an extraordinary site. The proposal for Jazz at Lincoln Center will incorporate an important cultural element into the development. I am pleased that all parties worked in a collaborative manner to make sure that the best project could be selected. I commend the MTA for carrying out a process which ensured that all of the elements critical to creating the most successful project were considered in their designation."
Deputy Mayor Randy L. Levine said, "This development will bring jobs, needed hotel space, a corporate headquarters, and significant tax and other economic benefits to the City."
Planning Commission Chairman Joseph B. Rose said, "This project will finally realize the great potential of this spectacular site. I am confident that this project wil] transform the Coliseum site from a symbol of frustration and delay into a prime example of the best that can be achieved in urban development."
Gordon Davis, Chairman of Jazz at Lincoln Center said, "We are delighted with the designation of The Related Companies group, and look forward to sharing this unique site with Time Warner and the other users of the project. Jazz at Lincoln Center would particularly like to thank the Mayor for his leadership in recognizing the value of including a cultural institution on the most prominent site in New York City and the efforts of the MTA to include Jazz at Lincoln Center within the development."
The Columbus Centre proposal represents the best project for the City in terms of urban design, overall program, economic package, and its public presence within New York City. The program mix within the development provides a balanced program that will ensure that the project will be an magnet for New Yorkers and tourists alike and will make Columbus Circle an active place throughout the day and into the evening.
The process for selecting the Columbus Centre team was a collaborative effort involving the City, the MTA and TBTA, and civic and advisory groups, including the Mayor's Coliseum Advisory Panel. The Advisory Panel, whose members include Jack L. Goldstein of the Theater Development Fund, Jacquelin T. Robertson, FAJA, AICP and partner in the architecture and planning firm of Cooper, Robertson & Partners, Andrew Heiskell, Chairman Emeritus of the New York Public Library, Joseph B. Rose, Chairman of the City Planning Commission, and John S. Dyson, former Deputy Mayor and a City representative to the MTA Board, was created by Mayor Giuliani to advise him on design and cultural issues surrounding the redevelopment of the Coliseum Site. The Advisory Panel's deliberations led them to conclude that the Columbus Centre project was the best project of the five finalists.
Jack Goldstein said, "The Advisory Panel considered factors including design, massing, program, mix of uses, public accessibility, and suitability in regard to the desire for a major cultural component. At the end of our examinations, we came to the conclusion that in every regard, the Related project was the best project of those under consideration."
Jacquelin T. Robertson said, "It was the Advisory Panel's unanimous opinion that the Related scheme struck the best balance between architectural, urban design, planning, and cultural concerns and the practical requirements of organizing such a complex mix of uses on a constrained site in a way that would be at once exciting and new, and at the same time natural and uncontrived."
Brendan Sexton, President of the Municipal Art Society said, "The MTA and the City deserve congratulations for looking for the greatest value for all New Yorkers, not just jumping at the highest bid. The Related Companies should also be proud for creating a terrific project and a new New York landmark."