The Dey Street Concourse will link to the WTC through a narrower tube

In a presentation to Community Board 1 (CB1) last week, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) capital planners outlined the revised design scheme for the ambitious Fulton Street Transit Center. The new plan scales back several features to reduce the project's overall budget by $40 million, while keeping most of the key elements that will link 12 subway lines and the World Trade Center PATH station.

MTA representatives William Wheeler, director of project development, and Lois Tendler, director of government and community relations, walked through the changes with the CB1 board and other downtown stakeholders on July 13.

Visually, the most notable change calls for a smaller glass-and-steel oculus or "cone" at the center's Broadway and Fulton Street main entrance. Though scaled back in size, the oculus will still let in natural light down to the lower-level subway platforms, and will rearrange the station's operations and mechanical spaces. In addition, the new entrance configuration will bring part of the 23,500 square feet of retail space closer to the sidewalk, making shops more visible to pedestrians.

Dey Street Concourse will link to the WTC through a narrower tube

In the main transfer area of the station, called the "mixing bowl," planners will widen the mezzanine for better access to the A and C lines. Currently, those lines are accessible via long ramps and stairwells interconnected with the J/M/Z and 4/5 train platforms.

The MTA continues to make steady progress to acquire real estate for the transit center, assist in tenant relocation, and install underpinnings to stabilize neighboring buildings' foundations.

In particular, the MTA is working with a special contracting team for the preservation and incorporation of the Corbin Building into the design. The nine-story Corbin Building (at John Street and Broadway) is one of Lower Manhattan's unique pieces of architecture. The 1889 structure was designed by one of the first skyscraper architects, Francis Kimball, and is only 20 feet wide but 160 feet long along John Street.

The Fulton Street Transit Center's construction will occur in phases, the first of which began in winter 2004 at Broadway at Maiden Lane (on the east) and Liberty Street (on the west), where new entrances to the southern end of the 4/5 platform are being built.

The main entrance "cone" will be shortened and reorganized

Other elements, such as foundation and superstructure work for the main entrance and new A/C mezzanine construction, will take place from 2006 until the project's completion in winter 2008.

The MTA is working with the Dept. of Transportation to ensure accessibility for neighborhood businesses, as well as to maintain traffic lanes on Broadway and cross streets. The authority also is addressing community and environmental issues to ensure that noise and dust is minimized during construction, and that contractors use low-sulfur-fuel equipment and recycled material wherever possible.

With the changes, the transit center's revised budget comes to $785 million. Wheeler explained that the design changes do not affect the ultimate goal of making the station easier to navigate and access from street level. "It's up-to-date, it's modern, and it's comprehensive," he said.

As part of the community outreach initiative for the Fulton Street Transit Center, the MTA has launched a task force that downtown stakeholders are invited to join. The task force's next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 20 at 10 a.m. at MTA headquarters (2 Broadway at Bowling Green). To RSVP for the meeting or to be added to the mailing list, contact Community Relations Director Lois Tendler at (646) 252-2660.