2nd Ave Subway: Only Weeks Away..!
A: The subway is coming! The subway is coming! Thanks to Doug over at True Gotham, a great read by the way from a veteran top producer who talks alot about his experiences in the trenches of New York City real estate, for bringing this to my attention via his post titled, "2nd Avenue Subway...Finally!". Construction up at 96th street is expected to break ground in the next 4-5 weeks; but I would add a few weeks of insurance to that timeframe.
According to the NY1 Story that came out yesterday:
MTA officials say that in a few weeks, they will award a $333 million contract to build what they call Phase One. "This is real now, and it is happening," said Mysore Nagaraja of the MTA Capital Construction Corporation. "And we are excited about it."This is very exciting news in my opinion as an investment in infratsucture of this magnitude in this area of Manhattan is sure to change the landscape of real estate investments upon completion. All of a sudden, those areas too far east of the Lexington Avenue subway line that have been discounted and undesireable because it was too far from mass transit, will not have this complaint anymore. Early last year I predicted the York Avenue / East End Avenue areas of the Upper East Side to be my sleeper picks for price appreciation when this 1st phase of the new subway line is completed in 2013.Then construction work will begin between 96th and 92nd Streets, where a tunnel boring machine will begin drilling the new tunnels. "We are going to be taking two to three lanes for construction," said Nagaraja. "And we have to relocate all the utilities there first. And once the utilities are relocated, then we have to make this hole, which is about 60 - 70 feet deep. That is when the machine can be dropped in there and [we can] start assembling the machine."
The NY1 article went on to predict the beginning of construction:
Residents of the Upper East Side can expect to see construction activity not much more than a month from now. "They've got to put up trailers, and they've got to start work," added Nagaraja. "And I'm assuming sometime in early March we'll see some construction."According to the MTA website:
Phase One subway service, which is projected to carry over 200,000 weekday riders, will be an extension of the existing Q train service in Manhattan. Q train service will operate along Second Avenue from 96th Street to 63rd Street, where it will divert west along the existing 63rd Street line, stopping at the Lexington Avenue/63rd Street Station, where riders will be able to transfer to the F train line. It will then continue west under Central Park on tracks that are currently not being used for passenger service and then head south to the existing 57th Street/7th Avenue Station, which is where the northbound Q train service now terminates.
UrbanDigs Says: Expect 2nd avenue to be a mess in the range of streets that are experiencing construction for the tunnel. It will be loud, noisy, hectic, and dusty for some time. Businesses will have a rough time during this period and some might go out of business. Those who must sell their homes might have to discount their property's to procure a buyer who must now deal with this mess for a while; presenting what could be some good buying opportunity's for those with a longer term timeline to own.
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