UPDATE: Cablevision Plans to Move MSG

NEW YORK CITY-Cablevision has inked a deal to relocate Madison Square Garden a block from where it now stands, sources tell GlobeSt.com. The arena will become part of the Farley Post Office/Moynihan Station project.

The Garden is not the only site moving. NJ Transit signed on as the anchor rail tenant at Moynihan Station on Eighth Avenue. In November, the NJ Transit board of directors say the extra room is needed to accommodate its growing ridership. Last summer, the team of the Related Cos. and Vornado Realty Trust was selected to redevelop the Farley Post Office. The $818-million project involves 300,000 sf of space for the train station, 850,000 sf for commercial space–including as much as 100,000 sf of retail–and up to one million sf of air rights for residential housing across the street.

The Post Office will continue to occupy 250,000 sf in the Eighth Avenue landmark, whose facade will remain. The project is being funded by the state, city and federal governments, the US Post Office, Vornado and Related.

In late 2004, MSG officials hired Brisbin Brook Beynon for a $300-million renovation effort. The Garden plan included changes all over the arena to the concourses, suites, locker rooms and staging areas. The effort is expected to begin in 2006. This Garden incarnation–the famed arena has changed locations since 1874–cost $116 million and opened in 1968.