Source: Bisnow

Date: 10.6.2025

Link: The MTA’s Real Estate Play To Fix The Subway

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) introduced the Zoning for Accessibility (ZFA) program to expand subway accessibility through public-private partnerships, offering developers up to a 20% floor area bonus in exchange for constructing or upgrading station entrances and accessibility features. The initiative replaces mandatory transit easements, which previously required developers within 50 feet of stations to fund costly upgrades, with voluntary incentives that encourage participation and foster collaboration. One example is Grubb Properties’ Link Apartments QPN at 25-01 Queens Plaza North, a 371,000-square-foot, 417-unit mixed-use building that received an additional 49,000 square feet of development rights after building an accessible entrance at Queensboro Plaza. As the MTA grapples with persistent budget shortfalls and withheld federal funding for major projects like the Second Avenue Subway and Hudson River tunnels, ZFA exemplifies a broader trend in transit-oriented development (TOD) that leverages private investment to accelerate modernization and advance the agency’s goal of making 95% of stations accessible by 2055, supported by a $7.1 billion capital plan.