“Once we had a second opportunity, we didn’t waste any time,” says Ross. “We assembled a board of directors meeting in about one minute and we made a decision in the next 30 seconds.” Their deal with the M.T.A. was completed just a week after Tishman pulled out. Having Goldman Sachs onboard as an investor went a long way toward reassuring the M.T.A. about the viability of the bid.

Ross calls the $1.04 billion price tag an “opportunistic price” given the fact that for all its challenges, the development is still located in midtown Manhattan, home to some of the priciest real estate on the planet (New York State assemblyman Richard Brodsky thinks the M.T.A. should have waited for better economic conditions to sell rights to the Railyards and claims the M.T.A. is “giving away this property”). Ross is hoping that the Railyards can eventually have as much impact as the Time Warner Center had on its surrounding area.

But the West Side Railyards project presents an even greater challenge, being an enormously expensive project that has stymied developers for years and one that’s dependent on a wide range of other players doing their part for it to become a success.

Beyond the $1 billion price tag, Related will have to spend at least $2 billion on infrastructure, primarily to build a platform over the working railyards to support construction above it. This will make it at least two years before Related will even be able to begin construction on its own buildings.

And attracting tenants to the area is dependent on the timely completion of the extension of the 7 subway line into the Far West Side, which began last December. Though Related’s investment in the site was contingent on the M.T.A.’s commitment to the extension, the project is already over budget, and the beleaguered state of the proposed Second Avenue subway line, which has been planned literally for decades, has not exactly inspired confidence in the M.T.A. to get the job done anywhere near on time.

Several other ongoing projects that surround the Railyards are also crucial to the development, and almost all have experienced significant problems despite being a priority by Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Proposed expansions to the nearby Jacob Javits convention center have been cancelled, and efforts to redevelop Penn Station, another project that Ross is working on with fellow mega-developer Steve Roth of Vornado Realty Trust, are currently stalled over financing.

Roth, who’s known Ross for years and has both competed and collaborated with him on a number of projects, says he’s confident that Ross can succeed but acknowledges the challenges he faces. “I hope he lives through it,” Roth laughs.

It won’t be easy. The lack of an anchor tenant for the project thus far adds uncertainty (among others, Related is wooing Condé Nast, the publisher of Portfolio.com, for the space), and all those other stars need to align for the development to take off.
 
Gary Dellaverson, the M.T.A.’s chief financial officer, says he’s pleased at the choice of Related to develop the site, but he’s realistic about the magnitude of the project. “Nobody candidly has lots of expertise in 26 acres of midtown development,” Dellaverson says.