MTA Announces $75 Million in Deals to Keep Park Ave. Sturdy
The public/private partnerships will draw on bank giant JP Morgan Chase and real estate developer Vornado Realty Trust to help renovate the underground train shed that runs beneath Park Ave. on the portion of the roadway leading to the historic terminal.
| 17 Dec 2025 | 12:55
Two years ago, this is what part of the Grand Central Terminal Train Shed looked like. The Train Shed is over a 100 years old, badly in need of repair. JP Morgan Chase and Vornado have jointly pledged $75 million to help the MTA reconstruct the infrastructure between 46th and 53rd Streets. (
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MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber (at mic) announces public private partnerships with JP Morgan Chase and Vornado Realty Trust to make necessary repairs to the Grand Central Terminal train shed that runs beneath Park Avenue on Tuesday, Dec 16. (
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Under the Grand Central Terminal Train Shed, which supports expensive Manhattan Commercial Real Estate, a glance upwards in November of 2023 reveals how fragile the bridge structure is. Part of a $1.7 billion plan to reconstruct Metro-North’s line from 46th Street to the Harlem River, needed repairs will be done under the MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan. (
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The underpinnings of Park Ave. that lead into Grand Central Terminal will be getting a major overhaul.
The MTA on December 16, said it has reached two new two public-private partnerships totaling $75 million with JP Morgan Chase and Vornado Realty Trust that will rebuild stretches of the so-called “train shed” that are crucial supports beneath Park Ave. as the roadway approaches the historic terminal.
The pedestrian malls on top will also be remodeled to make them more pedestrian friendly. The train shed, which supports Park Ave. is in “rough shape” because major renovations have been neglected for years, said MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Leiber at a press conference in front of the new JP Morgan Chase HQ.
”It’s been subjected to water, salt, and chemicals for over a hundred years,” Lieber said.. “There are areas when you’re in the train shed where you actually see the sky because the concrete is falling, it’s eroding, it’s falling apart. We cannot let this go on.”
MTA officials estimate the train shed supports 70 square blocks, where 200,000 employees work in 73 million square feet of prime commercial real estate. Leiber said JP Morgan Chase will handle sector two between E. 46th to E. 50th Streets and kick in $50 million while real estate developer Vornado Realty Trust will handle sector three from East 50th to East 53rd St. and contribute $25 million.
JP Morgan Chase had already partnered with the MTA in rebuilding sector one. Lieber said that while the MTA has been making sport repairs for years, it did not have the funds for major renovations until now.
The project is part of a $1.7 billion component of the 2025-2029 MTA Capital Plan. In this case, the money is being used to rebuild the line from Grand Central all the way to the Harlem River at 133rd Street. At the upper point, trains entering the Terminal are sorted to passenger platforms, where 98 percent of Metro-North trains go on a daily basis. On Park Avenue, above the Train Shed work, the project also calls for the reconstruction of the center Park Avenue Malls to make them more pedestrian-friendly. This is being done cooperatively with The New York City Department of Transportation, which is leading the design effort for the new malls.
With good management integration between Chase and the MTA, the rebuilding of sector one came in $20 million under budget and is on track for substantial completion by the end of 2026, Lieber said.
New partner Vornado will play a similar role for Sector three of the Train Shed work, running from East 50 St to East 53 St. This work will be undertaken in coordination with Vornado Realty Trust, Ken Griffin and Rudin’s reconstruction of 350 Park Avenue, which received rezoning approval earlier this year. Construction should start next year. Vornado will manage the day-to-day construction activities on this part of the Train Shed reconstruction.
Jamie Torres-Springer, MTA Construction & Development President cited that five years ago, construction plans called for 35 years of spot repairs to fix the line from from Grand Central Terminal to the Harlem River. With the 2025-2029 MTA Capital Plan and the public-private partnerships, he expects 56 percent of the work will be done by the end of the decade, he said.
NYC Council Member Keith Powers, who is the democratic nominee in the special election for an east side assembly seat attended the press conference and noted: “This public-private partnership can serve as a model for how businesses and the MTA can partner to deliver transformational projects in our city. I look forward to seeing the many ways this project will strengthen our city.”