Expected increase in employment creates need for 100 million SF of space.

New York City is expected to add as many as 443,000 jobs between 2005 and 2025, according to Vishaan Chakrabarti, a director in the Manhattan office of the New York Department of City Planning. That would translate into regional demand for about 100 million square feet of new office construction over the next 20 years.

The city has plans to accommodate more than a quarter of that growth through a bold redevelopment plan of the Hudson Yards area of Midtown Manhattan, Chakrabarti told attendees of the Appraisal Institute Metropolitan New York Chapter's Joint Region IV and VI symposium, which was held May 16 at the Grand Hyatt.

The Hudson Yards area is located from Eighth Avenue west to the Hudson River, and from 28th to 42nd Streets.

Also attending the event was New York Jets President L. Jay Cross, who outlined the organization's plans for a New York Sports and Convention Center, to be an integral part of the redevelopment of the far West Side. The center would be located between 30th and 34th Streets along the Hudson River.

According to Cross, in its 42-year history, the New York Jets organization has never had a home of its own. The New York Sports and Convention Center would serve as the home stadium of the New York Jets, an extension of the Javits Center, and as an Olympic arena for the 2012 Olympics -- should New York City's bid be successful.

John Busi, a Cushman & Wakefield senior managing director and president of the Metropolitan New York Chapter of the Appraisal Institute, said the symposium was a major success.

"We were fortunate to have two important strategists outline a comprehensive plan for what Manhattan's far West Side can be," Busi said.