Related Signs West Side Deal, Adds Partner

NEW YORK CITY-With a new general partner now committed to the Hudson Yards project, Related Cos. said Wednesday it has signed a binding contract on a 99-year lease with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the 26-acre site on Manhattan’s Far West Side. That joint venture partner is Oxford Properties Group, the real estate investment and development arm of Canadian pension fund OMERS, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.

A spokeswoman for Related tells GlobeSt.com that Oxford will commit up to $475 million in equity to the project. In the meantime, the JV is putting up a $21.75-million deposit, to be followed by two deposit of approximately $11 million each in six and 12 months’ time, according to the MTA. Oxford replaces Goldman Sachs as Related’s financial partner on Hudson Yards, Goldman having pulled back on its involvement this past February.