Anyone who's stepped foot in Port Authority Bus Terminal knows that its antithetical to Disney World and pretty much the worst place on earth. The administration's been flouting its plans to remake the paltry excuse of a bus depot for a while now, but those have yet to pan out. But today, the Port Authority announced the launch of its design competition to remake the terminal into a "21st century successor to America’s largest and busiest bus terminal," which is, in theory, a little bit harder to renege on.
The competition comes from the board's October 2015 approval of plans to solicit conceptual designs for a new bus terminal at a site one block west of the existing terminal, or at a different site should the proposals find that the location isn't adequate.
The Port Authority is billing the contest not as an architecture competition (despite the city's track record of late producing stunning civic structures) but as a competition to design a facility that actually delivers things like improved functionality for bus parking, a reduced impact on traffic surrounding the site, and an " appropriate level of service to meet bus passenger demand." As of now, Carlo's Bake Shop isn't cutting it.
The chosen design will exhibit a cost-effective solution to these problems, taking into account the agency's operating costs into the future and its limited financial resources. The design must also one-up the existing terminal by remedying its history of significant operating losses.
Designs submitted in the competition must be modular, according to the Port Authority. The competition will be broken down into two phases, and details surrounding the first phase will be made available later today through the Port Authority's website. The deadline for phase one submissions is April 12, 2016. Finalists for phase two will be announced later that month. The competition winner will be announced in September.
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