NEW YORK CITY-Shovels will begin moving dirt soon at theHudson Yards redevelopment on Manhattan’s Far WestSide under a modified contract approved Wednesday by theMetropolitan Transportation Authority’s board ofdirectors. The revised contract allows RelatedCos. to begin foundation work on the headquarters forCoach Inc. before closing on its deal with the MTAfor the 26-acre site.

In exchange, though, Related is committing for the first time toa firm closing date: June 1, 2013. Previously, the developer hadthe right to hold off signing on the dotted line for the EasternRail Yard portion of the site, and begin paying rent on its 99-yearlease, until three triggers in the city’s real estate market weremet: Midtown’s office availability rate declining to 11%, apartmentsale prices reaching an average $1,200 per square foot and the AIAArchitectural Billings Index hitting 50. The three markers have notyet been met.

An MTA staff summary outlined the reason that Related sought tomodify its contract: “deadlines from Coach and other prospectiveoccupants to commence construction” on the 1.7-million-square-foottower, at which Coach will be the anchor tenant, in order to haveit ready for occupancy by mid-2015.