Given real state prices in NYC, if find it hard to believe it's still "too expensive to build everything" now, if it was so in the 60's. Perhaps there is more to the story? Does anyone know why this place doesn't get developed?
Because it's an island with no infrastructure. There's still tons of cheap real estate in the Bronx that's pretty close to Manhattan. That'll get gentrified well before a poorly located abandoned island with no transit connections would.
Included in "infrastructure," but worth noting separately: NYC real estate prices are very dependent upon transportation time. Without any bridges, tunnels, or public ferry service here, actual distance from Manhattan doesn't really matter -- it's very far away.
There was a hydrant in the pictures, so they had water and most likely, sewage. Electricity as well, based on the appearance of things. Remember, the island was actively used up until the mid-sixties.
> There's still tons of cheap real estate in the Bronx that's pretty close to Manhattan.
This is mostly the reason. People who aren't local don't understand that while real-estate prices are sky-high at the center of town, you really don't need to go far before they come down to earth.
Correct. Also it seems that the whole island is covered by a marsh. The island's location is technically a river but it is very close to the ocean and ocean levels have risen quite a bit in the past 50 years.
So one can expect that the whole thing will be mud and it will be expensive to build anything useful on it.
But it would be interesting if some billionaire buys it to build a mansion on there. That would be the ultimate mark of exclusivity.
A lot of skyscrapers have private helipads, is my point.
For a sufficiently-expensive executive officer, it actually makes sense to pay for a 15-minute skyscraper-to-skyscraper flight vs losing 45 minutes in a taxi.
