RXR Realty to look at renovating ‘United States’

A new scheme has been announced to try to save the iconic transatlantic liner ‘United States’.
The SS United States Conservancy has entered into an agreement with RXR Realty, a US real estate development company, which will begin to explore options for the rebuilding of the liner.
RXR Realty currently manages 69 commercial real estate properties and investments with an aggregate gross asset value of around $18.1 bill.
For several months, RXR Realty will work to determine the viability of the ‘United States’ redevelopment and will explore a range of potential locations for the historic vessel, which is currently laid up in Philadelphia. 
In connection with the work, RXR will pay a substantial part of the ship’s ongoing costs and make other investments during the option period.
The company said it will soon assemble a team to assess the vessel’s interior spaces and explore concepts for the ship’s renovation. 
RXR Realty said: “The SS ‘United States’ is one of America’s great vessels and an icon of American engineering and design. Given our history of re-purposing and updating some of this country’s most historic structures, we are now working with the SS United States Conservancy to explore what options might exist for the ship, going forward.
“We are currently at the very beginning of this process – a process that will require substantial work on all sides. At the end of this period, we will have a better sense as to whether we have a viable plan and, if so, the specifics of that plan and in which waterfront community it might be actualised,” the company said.