NEW YORK - Governor David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Executive Director and CEO Elliot Sander and Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger Wednesday announced the conditional selection of Tishman Speyer to develop the air space over the two development sites that compose the MTA’s John Caemmerer Rail Yard – the Western Rail Yard and the Eastern Rail Yard.

Tishman Speyer competed against four world-class development teams and won with a proposal for a vibrant, mixed-use development with a net present value of approximately $1 billion that will support the MTA’s 2005-2009 Capital Program.

The Tishman Speyer proposal would construct more than 12 million square feet of commercial, residential, retail, cultural and community space while preserving the High Line’s linear open space, including 379 units of affordable housing, and pursuing a LEED Gold standard for sustainability. In addition to these features, Tishman Speyer was chosen because it provided the highest net present value to the MTA and the backing of one of the leading developers of first class real estate in the world.

The MTA-owned Caemmerer Yard stores Long Island Rail Road commuter trains in close proximity to Penn Station, allowing the LIRR to move more than 235,000 commuters through the terminal each day. The construction proposal will provide for safe, continuous and uninterrupted LIRR service.