citymaus

BART makes better use of their surface parking lots. 

“Nearly 1,000 units are under construction on BART property, with another 2,000 in the planning process. And those are just the beginning—the transit system wants to boost production and build about 14,000 more units over the next two decades. None of those figures include the countless other developments on privately owned land near BART stations.“

read more: eastbaytimes, 04.02.2021.  and: “the japanese model for station development.” streetsblog, 01.11.18.  BART transit-oriented development. 

“A plan to build housing on 8 acres of asphalt surrounding the El Cerrito Plaza BART Station passed a significant milestone Thursday, as the transit agency’s Board of Directors picked a development team to build the project.

The BART Board of Directors on Thursday selected Holliday Development and Related California to construct 780 units of housing on the site, which may also include a new public library. The project would be about 49% below market rate, with 37% of the units affordable to families of four making less than $104,000 a year.

While the BART board has chosen a builder, the details still need to be sorted out, including the issue that will almost certainly elicit protests from commuters who drive to the station: parking.

There are 740 parking spaces at the station, and those spots, in pre-COVID times, generally filled up by 8:45 a.m. Monday through Thursday, according to El Cerrito resident and BART board member Rebecca Saltzman. The request for proposal for the project asked prospective developers to present plans that include 250 spots.

Saltzman said that the project is popular among her neighbors, with the caveat that any plan will have to deal with the realities of commuter parking. She said that she is confident the parking issue can be settled, given that there is ample street parking as well as a large parking lot at the nearby El Cerrito Plaza shopping center. 

Right now walking is the main mode of travel to the BART station, with 38% of riders arriving on foot. The percentage of commuters driving to the station has declined 20% between 2008 and 2015, from 42% to 34%, according to BART staff. The average driver lives 1.4 miles away and the average BART pedestrian coming to the station walks about half a mile.

The El Cerrito project is part of BART’s ambitious plan to develop 20,000 units on its property by 2040, a goal that the board established in 2016. BART owns more than 250 acres of land at 27 stations in four counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco and San Mateo. About 3,000 units have been completed on BART property, with another 1,200 under construction. The current pipeline includes about 6,200 housing units and 1.8 million square feet of office space. 

The project would probably be built at Factory_OS, the modular housing factory on Mare Island in Vallejo. Rick Holliday, the founder of Holliday Development, is a partner in Factory_OS, which is also building units for the San Leandro and Coliseum BART properties.

Holliday Development project manager Jamie Hiteshew said he was gratified that the BART board went along with the staff recommendation and chose his team. He said the vote marks the start of a community discussion that will focus both on the parking issue and the library, which he is hopeful will be included in the final scheme.

He said the fact that the units will be constructed at Factory_OS will allow a higher level of affordability than if they were to be built with traditional wood-frame construction. Modular construction is about 20% less expensive than conventional building methods.”

read more: sfchronicle, 21.11.2020.

BART's Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Program Work Plan. 2020.08 public draft. 

“The TOD Work Plan establishes BART’s TOD Program priorities for the next 5-10 years. It also summarizes BART’s approach for prioritizing all of its developable property, including those parcels that are subject to AB 2923.”

“The problem with every neighbor having a say in whether housing gets built in their “backyard” has become widely recognized in recent years. But the problems with all 101 Bay Area cities, 27 transit agencies, and 9 counties pursuing their own transportation agendas is only now starting to gain widespread attention. The uneven application of AB 2923 shows how these two issues are inextricably linked: it will be difficult, if not impossible, to solve one problem without solving the other. 

AB 2923 groups BART stations into three categories: the highest intensity, which only applies in downtown Oakland, requires BART parking lots to be zoned for buildings at least 12 stories tall with no more than .375 parking spaces per home. The next category, which encompasses most of the stops lining the eastern side of the Bay, must be zoned for buildings at least seven stories tall and no more than .5 parking spaces per home. And every other station must be zoned for buildings at least five stories tall, with no more than one parking space per home.

None of these station area types have minimum parking requirements, only maximums, which means that if a developer so chooses, they wouldn’t have to include any parking at all. The law also requires that developments include transportation demand management programs to compensate for lost parking, and anti-displacement strategies for the surrounding neighborhoods. As part of its TOD strategy, BART plans for 35% of the 20,000 homes built on its land to be offered at below market rates.  

The cities subject to AB 2923 have until July 2022 to get their zoning in accordance with state law. If they don’t, these zoning guidelines will automatically apply on BART-owned land.

the north berkeley BART station is currently surrounded by surface car parking. the land will be redeveloped into housing. flickr/ml_kap

“Cities are beginning to respond in kind. Berkeley, which opposed the measure, became the first city to begin the process of changing its zoning code to reflect the new law. San Leandro and Pittsburgh are ensuring their ongoing planning efforts meet the standards set out by AB 2923, according to Jim Allison of BART. Over the next two years cities like Lafayette, Dublin, and Pleasant Hill, which actively opposed the bill, will need to decide whether to preemptively change their zoning or simply let BART’s new standards take effect in 2022. 

However, because of the Bay Area’s tangled mess of transit agencies and governing bodies, some of BART’s surface parking lots will be around for the foreseeable future. AB 2923 does not apply to BART land in San Mateo or Santa Clara counties, which means the law meant to evenly distribute the burden of building housing near transit will not be evenly applied. 

San Mateo and Santa Clara counties are not part of the BART District.”

read more: sfweekly, 22.07.2020. 

“The plan envisions elevated tracks above downtown roadways, a station with two separate concourses near West Santa Clara and West San Fernando streets, shops and services in the station’s ground level and public squares for cyclists and pedestrians to easily move in between modes of transit.

The station’s redevelopment, which will take about a decade to bring to fruition, will serve as a key focal point in the robust revitalization of downtown San Jose’s western edges, which will include Google’s transit village.

“The ambition is to create a lively and active neighborhood that best services bikes and pedestrians in a safe and pleasant manner,” said Daniel Jongtien of Benthem Crouwel Architects.

“Diridon Station currently serves as a transportation hub for approximately 17,000 daily passengers via light rail, Caltrain, Amtrak, the Capitol Corridor, ACE Train and bus lines. Within the next decade, BART is scheduled to expand through San Jose to Diridon Station. And eventually, the station could serve as a vital point for high-speed rail to connect Silicon Valley to the Central Valley.

Nearby, Google anticipates that its transit-oriented community featuring office buildings, stores, restaurants and open spaces on an approximately mile-long strip in downtown San Jose west of Highway 87 will serve 15,000 to 20,000 of its employees.

Between additional traffic driven by Google’s new campus and BART’s planned expansion, the Valley Transit Authority projects that the Diridon Station will serve more than 100,000 passengers by 2040, according to its 2019 Travel Demand Model.”

read more: mercurynews, 16.11.19.  more info: diridon integrated station concept plan – presentation [PDF]

first time seeing a female skateboarder in a rendering! good job, graphic designer! 

the fifth street natives: a homeless community of all-female bay area natives.

No matter what the Fifth Street Natives’ future looks like, Nikki Cooper said her natural path forward is to find housing and continue working with Oakland’s homeless population. “I feel I’ve had a calling, and that is somehow to be ground zero for other homeless. I’m one of them as much as anything, but to me I’m still that suited woman out in San Francisco who had an office.”

read more: sfchronicle, 27.10.19.

they’re camping out on the street, right next to vacant land that will take years to develop, and lots of car storage.

“A 110-unit modular apartment project at 532 Union St., a small parcel three blocks from West Oakland BART just topped off. It's one of several projects near the station and part of a broader surge of development hitting the neighborhood.

Typically, a building this size would take a year to construct, said developer Rick Holliday.

It went up in 10 days.  

All the pieces were made and assembled at Factory_OS in Vallejo and trucked to the construction site.

That means less cost of construction and less of a nuisance for the surrounding neighborhood.

"You have much less impact with trucks and people parking," said Holliday. This is the first project locally produced.

Workers still need to stitch together the modular units.

"That type of efficiency is where it always should have gone. The rest of the world has met that efficiency, so finally construction is catching up," said project manager Jessica Goldbach.

“The units here will range from $1,800 for a studio to $2,800 for a two-bedroom.

Holliday said cities can build low-income and affordable housing more quickly and for about 30 percent less money this way.

"What does that mean? You can build 30% more apartments. Or lower rents. Or both," said Holliday.

People should be able to start moving in to the Union by end of the year.”

read more: ktvu, 26.08.19. sfbizjournals, 15.03.19. 

“500 Kirkham — a $650 million,1,032-unit apartment complex meant to pay homage to the west side’s vibrant jazz and blues scene of the 1940s and ’50s is on track to break ground near the West Oakland BART station as early as next spring.

The project encompasses an entire block between Seventh, Union, Kirkham and Fifth streets immediately east of the BART station and will include 85 units designated as affordable for residents in the “very low” income” bracket, 35,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, 59 parking spaces, and a publicly accessible dog park and playground.

The design consists of three separate buildings — two mid-rises of nine and eight stories and a 32-story, 338-foot high-rise. The project will require a one-story commercial building on Seventh and Union to be razed and 15 trees removed, though replaced by 30.

existing surface car parking. west oakland BART is on the block to the right. 

“The project drew resounding support from West Oakland residents, business owners and community leaders at Wednesday’s meeting. 

In an interview, Kennedy chalked up the support to community engagement, noting his team spent the last two and a half years listening to local stakeholders and accordingly tweaking the project.

“We’re trying to bring more people and more secure, inviting public spaces to West Oakland, which in turn will bring more businesses, more jobs to the area, more opportunity and more creativity — together all make the ingredients of a community,” Kennedy said at the meeting. “We really hope that this will contribute to the rebuilding of this historic neighborhood and I hope to create something that will be as unique in a 21st century way as Seventh Street was in the Fifties.”

the site plan shows that the existing 7th west bar/venue/restaurant will be reserved a spot. 

“Seventh Street was known as the “Harlem of the West” in its heyday. Legends such as Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Nat King Cole, Louis Jordan, Al Green, Etta James and Lowell Fulson graced the stages at such clubs as Slim Jenkins Supper Club and Esther’s Orbit Room, while black-owned businesses lining the street thrived.

But Seventh Street’s success came to a halt as federal and state projects such as the Cypress Freeway, the West Oakland BART station and a US post office led to the demolition of homes and businesses.

aerial view looking east toward downtown oakland. 

“The city’s planning commission unanimously approved the project Wednesday, but the City Council must sign off on an agreement with developer Panoramic Interests. Patrick Kennedy, the company’s owner, said if the council approves the agreement next month, construction could begin in the second quarter of next year and should be finished by late 2021 or early 2022.”

read more: eastbaytimes, 24.08.19. and: staff report packet for design review committee [PDF of plans]

“In 2014, Oakland developed the West Oakland Specific Plan that updated zoning laws and laid out a vision for the area that focuses on protecting the community and promoting equitable development, said Darin Ranelletti, policy director for housing security in the mayor’s office.

“The plan focused on higher-density residential developments near the BART station and created an industrial sanctuary to protect industrial jobs in a portion of the neighborhood,” Ranelletti said. “That really set the groundwork for what we are seeing today.”

“One of the biggest projects the neighborhood has seen in decades will soon be considered by Oakland’s Planning Commission. Approval of any building permits would set in motion the development of more than 1,000 apartments and 59 parking spaces, as well as space for retail, parks and offices. Two new streets would be built to accommodate the massive project at 500 Kirkham St., which includes a 23-story tower.

Patrick Kennedy, owner of Panoramic Interests, which has had major developments in San Francisco, said the project will be home to 3,000 people and will attempt to not just revitalize the area’s once thriving jazz and blues scene, but also build a village of cafes, barbershops and other small retail businesses with nearly 40,000 square feet of space. Part of the ground floor will house a job center for the West Oakland community.

The development initially had just eight parking spaces — a number that did bring in some opposition — but Kennedy said he has worked with city staff since 2017 on multiple redesigns to increase that number slightly. The reason for the lack of parking is to encourage a car-less community that will rely on the nearby BART station, bikes, Lyft and Uber, as well as short-term car-rental services like Zipcar.

“Parking spaces are very expensive to build, and we think the people who live in our building will not own cars because it’s a transit-rich location,” Kennedy said. “We don’t build any parking for our projects in San Francisco, and our buildings are full.”

The project is made up of a seven-story building, an eight-story building and a 23-story high-rise that will contain 1,032 apartments ranging from two to five bedrooms. Eighty-five of those are affordable housing units for families earning less than 50% of the area’s median income.”

read more: sfchronicle, 06.06.19. 

“Local elected officials joined with developers and transit agency partners today to celebrate the completion of the innovative, $57 million, 110-unit Coliseum Connections residential project. 

Adjacent to the Coliseum BART Station, the project is a joint venture of UrbanCore Development and the Oakland Economic Development Corporation (OEDC), in partnership with Pacific Housing, Inc. The project sits on a 1.3-acre site secured through a long-term ground lease with BART. While project planning took 17 years, the construction phase was a short 17 months thanks to the use of modular construction techniques.

“The project is one of the few truly mixed-income residential projects in the State with 50% of the units designated market rate with rents of $2,200 to $2,700 that are affordable for households earning 80% to 120% of AMI (area median income), and the other 55 units with rents of $1,100 - $1,570 that are affordable for families earning 50% to 60% of AMI. The units are co-mingled creating one community of mixed-income levels.

“The project is truly unique in that the developers, together with architects Pyatok Architects and Prefab Logistics, and general contractor Cahill Contractors constructed the building using modular technology to speed construction and reduce costs. The fabricator for the modular units was Guerdon Modular Builders from Idaho. The developers estimate that the use of modular units shortened the construction schedule by five months, and saved about $4 million in construction costs.

The project also included development of a 25-foot wide pedestrian mews bordering the east edge of the project. The landscaped mews, which is being dedicated by the City in the name of Ralph Grant – an early sponsor of OEDC’s effort to undertake the project, links 71st and 70th streets, providing neighbors with a direct walking and biking path to the Coliseum BART Station. Bioswales located at the pedestrian mews and along the frontages of 70th, 71st and Snell Streets provide management of storm-water runoff.

Residents at Coliseum Connections have exceptional access to BART’s rail system, numerous AC Transit bus routes, Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor Line and the Oakland Airport Connector, all complemented by recent streetscape improvements.”

read more: oakland press release, 04.04.19. eastbaytimes, 09.04.19.

“Senate Bill 50 marks the second attempt by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, to boost the state’s scarce housing supply by loosening strict zoning rules and relaxing off-street parking requirements near bus stops and train stations. The proposal also applies to “jobs-rich” areas, including broad swaths of the Bay Area, even if they don’t have an extensive public transportation network.

It received a 9-1 vote from Senate Housing Committee, which Wiener heads.

The bill is the latest example of a tug-of-war between a handful of Sacramento lawmakers and local governments over housing development and parking requirements. As the state grapples with a chronic housing shortage and affordability crisis, Wiener and others have argued the state must step in to allow more housing to be built near jobs and public transportation — “legalizing apartment buildings,” as the senator likes to call it.

mapping opportunity: this map identifies high-opportunity areas where zoning reform could encourage increased housing production, including housing options for lower-income households, as well as areas where more housing could increase access to jobs and/or reduce commute distances and greenhouse gas emissions.

“‘This housing shortage, which is self inflicted in many ways, has real-life consequences for people,' Wiener said Tuesday. ‘It pushes people into poverty and homelessness. It spikes evictions and displacement. It is a problem and we have to address it.’

California’s love affair with single-family housing was documented in a recent survey by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley. It found that less than 25% of land within local jurisdictions is zoned for multifamily housing, despite the ongoing housing shortage. Environmental groups argue such zoning restrictions are forcing more people to live further from their jobs, leading to lengthy commutes and more climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions, and that more homes must be built within an easy walk of trains, buses, and ferries.”

construction of housing right next to macarthur BART station in oakland. flickr/spur

read more: mercurynews, 02.04.19. 

Last year when San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener introduced SB 827, his proposal sparked a red-hot debate over how and where we build housing in the Golden State. The measure would have required cities to allow housing developments of four to eight stories within a half-mile radius of every BART station, Caltrain stop or other railroad station, and a quarter-mile from bus stops where buses run every 15 minutes during commute times.

Pro-development groups who believe the state should relinquish its attachment to single-family homes cheered. City officials weary of state-led influence over local developments gulped... Social justice and affordable housing advocacy groups balked, decrying the measure as a give-away to developers at the expense of low-income and working class residents who would be displaced if the bill had passed.

The bill was dead on arrival — even before the formal debate in the legislature over its merits and flaws could begin.

ashby BART station in berkeley. the surface car parking lot could be transformed into housing and other uses. photo: jane tyska.

This time, Wiener says he took a different tack. He reached out to critics of the original measure, he said, and tried to include their feedback in the latest version of the bill, now called More H.O.M.E.S. (Housing, Opportunity, Mobility, Equity, and Stability). The new version, SB 50, was introduced Monday.

It’s already raising alarm bells, said Palo Alto Mayor Liz Kniss, whose City Council drafted a letter opposing the original measure. That’s because one of the key changes was including “jobs-rich” project areas in the proposal, which means cities and towns that have done a good job at attracting employers and bringing jobs to the area, but haven’t built enough housing, wouldn’t be able to reject housing projects based on certain height and density limits — even if the projects aren’t near high-frequency transit.

“It’s interesting and potentially alarming,” Kniss said. “It could have an enormous impact.”

Like its predecessor, the More H.O.M.E.S. Act does not change local rules governing affordable housing policies, design review or demolition of historic buildings. But it now requires developers to provide affordable housing as long as the local jurisdiction doesn’t already have rules in place requiring that. It also prohibits the demolition of existing rental units and gives low-income communities more time to implement the bill, Wiener said.

The new bill lowers height requirements a little so the tallest buildings near rail stations would be five stories, not eight. For housing near bus routes, cities can keep existing height restrictions in place but can’t limit density. That means cities can’t reject a story-two apartment building if the land is zoned for single-family homes, Wiener said.

“The heart of the bill is still the same,” he said. “There are some changes to address displacement concerns and also to make sure we are focusing on both areas near public transit, as well as job-rich areas.”

read more: mercurynews, 04.12.18. 

to Palo Alto Mayor Liz Kniss: this is “potentially alarming” because your city failed at providing a good balance of jobs and housing?? palo alto allowed offices but restricted housing growth—screwing up traffic with people unable to live near where they work, so they have to drive from farther away—your city messed up and now you’re scared to fix it???! 

what a cowardly mayor. 

“Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Sunday to streamline housing development around BART stations and ease the Bay Area’s epic affordable housing problem at the expense of local officials’ decision-making powers over land use.

Supporters said Assembly Bill 2923 would fast-track housing development near transit where it’s most needed and often most contentious, with projects sometimes languishing up to a decade.

union city BART station and surroundings.

“The bill calls for BART to develop guidelines similar to those it adopted in 2016 for 20,000 homes throughout the system by 2040, with 35% offered at below-market-rate — and for certain East Bay and San Francisco cities to update their zoning of BART property accordingly. It also would fast-track developments on BART-owned property as long as the building heights are no more than one story higher than the tallest buildings allowed in the surrounding land.

“BART General Manager Grace Crunican weighed in soon after the bill’s signing.

“With the passage of AB 2923, lawmakers are sending a message to all local policymakers about the urgent need to build housing now. At BART, we could not agree more,” Crunican said in part.

“Although AB 2923 directs BART to adopt new transit-oriented development (TOD) zoning standards for each BART station, I want to assure community leaders and residents that BART is committed to continuing our collaborative approach. We have found that working closely with neighborhoods and local elected officials to consider community needs is not only respectful, it’s the most efficient way to get the job done.””

read more: mercurynews, 01.10.18. 

california senate on thursday passed assembly bill 2923.

“It would require BART to develop guidelines similar to those it adopted in 2016 calling for 20,000 homes throughout the system by 2040, with 35% offered at below-market-rate — and for certain East Bay and San Francisco cities to update their zoning of BART property accordingly. It also would fast-track developments on BART-owned property as long as the building heights are no more than one story higher than the tallest buildings allowed in the surrounding land. The latest version of the bill also requires a policy on replacement parking to ensure that “auto-oriented stations are still accessible by private automobile.”

read more: eastbaytimes, 22.08.18 and 23.08.18. the bill goes back to the assembly and then to the governor for final approval. 

“With BART trains rattling past in the background, several hundred people gathered last week under a white tent to celebrate the groundbreaking of Casa Arabella, a 94-unit affordable-housing complex going up on a surface parking lot just south of the Fruitvale BART Station.

It was a happy milestone for the dozen or so elected officials in attendance. The project, developed by the Unity Council and the East Bay Asian Local Development Corp., will be affordable to households with incomes in the extremely low and very-low categories. Twenty units will be reserved for formerly homeless veterans. It will be followed by another 181 units, which Unity Council CEO Chris Iglesias hopes to start building in 2019.

But the ceremony also underscored the exasperating length of time that it takes to develop transit-oriented housing on BART-owned land. As several speakers pointed out, it had been 24 years since the community plan for the Fruitvale Transit Village was conceived, and nearly 14 years since the 47-unit first phase opened.

site of the latest phase of fruitvale village. photo: scott strazzante/sfchronicle

“Casa Arabella (phase two) was supposed to be completed in 2008 but was hampered by a mix of bureaucratic delays, resistance from BART commuters and from community groups, and economic downturns that resulted in two development partners’ walking away from the deal.

“Literally, working on this transit village was one of my very first assignments when I came as a wide-eyed City Council aide 19 years ago,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said.

the first phase of the fruitvale village TOD. flickr/neighborhoods

“The development of Fruitvale Village lagged despite the overwhelming success of phase one, which, in addition to the housing units, contains 24 retail spaces, a branch library, a senior center, a school, a health clinic and an early-education center. It has been hailed as a model of transit-oriented development (TOD), winning awards from the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Association of Home Builders.

“The delays are significant — and avoidable — according to Democratic Assemblyman David Chiu of San Francisco. On Monday Chiu introduced legislation to help force communities served by BART to accept their fair share of housing. The bill, co-sponsored by Assemblyman Timothy Grayson, D-Concord, calls for BART to set new zoning standards for transit-oriented development on its land. It then would require local governments to update their own zoning to meet the standards BART approves.

“The project at Fruitvale is exactly what we need, but it has taken far too long,” said Chiu. “We need these projects to take years, not decades.””

read more: sfgate, 05.03.18. 

“AB 2923 (David Chiu and Tim Grayson), which would require the BART Board to establish transit-oriented development (TOD) standards for BART-owned land within a half-mile of stations (primarily surface parking lots). This bill is an important step toward ensuring that key transit-oriented sites are developed to their full potential. Cities in San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties would need to make sure that their local zoning is consistent with these TOD standards.

The bill would require local governments to change their zoning laws to conform to BART's guidelines and give BART the power to override local laws that are inconsistent with the agency's development standards. The bill also mandates that 20% of units in the BART-centered developments be affordable to moderate, low-income and very-low-income residents for a period of 55 years.

car parking at south hayward BART station. flickr/quashlo

"We have too many BART stations surrounded by parking lots," Chiu said in an interview Sunday. "Acres of asphalt and parked cars. ... Part of our point is it's much more effective to build a couple floors of housing on top of what is an open parking lot than the use that we see today."

the north berkeley BART station and parking lot, one of the transit district sites that could see future development.

“Chiu said that although BART has worked for years to encourage TOD, some local jurisdictions are very slow to grant construction approvals.

"We're trying to jump-start these conversation in every locality that has a BART station," Chiu said. "... I think building vibrant, affordable, walkable communities on undeveloped land next to BART is the best way to deliver housing without disrupting existing communities."”

read more: kqed, 05.03.18. spur supports AB 2923.

“Nearly every expansion of transit since 1940 has been paid for by the riders and the general public. That means close to half the debt service carried by the public is an outright gift to real estate owners along new routes. It has become embedded as an entitlement.

Now, it seems, perhaps for the first time, the New York M.T.A., including the governor’s appointees, wants to change who will bear the costs for new projects. At a meeting Wednesday where the board approved construction of 10 miles of new track on Long Island, a board member, Carl Weisbrod, argued that some of the cost should be paid by the real estate development the new service will make possible. The urban planners call it “value capture.” The chairman of the M.T.A., Joseph J. Lhota, replied, “All future projects will take that into account.” He said the agency would ask for legislation to make it practical, and Patrick J. Foye, its president, is leading the effort.

“I know from my standpoint as a real estate owner, when public transportation is built in front of my buildings, my buildings are worth more, and I should pay more of a proportion of that cost,” Scott Rechler, an M.T.A. board member and real estate developer, said on Wednesday.

rendering of mineola station improvements (platform view). via amodernLI

“The new Long Island track, to run between Floral Park and Hicksville, has been talked about for 40 years.

“Two years ago, it was estimated at $1.5 billion, and six months ago it was $2 billion,” James E. Vitiello, a board member who leads the agency’s audit committee. “Just last week, the board learned it was $2.6 billion.””

read more: nytimes, 14.12.17.