The ailing Pier 40 in New York could be saved as part of plans to build five residential tower blocks nearby in the West Village.

Developers and city officials are set to announce a proposal involving the sale of the 1962 pier’s air rights (the vertical space above a property), according to the New York Times.

The deal would see the Hudson River Park Trust – responsible for Pier 40 – cash in more than $100 million to repair the 15-acre former shipping terminal, while allowing the construction of five buildings nearby that would provide more than 1,500 homes.

‘This is a huge win for the park,’ Madelyn Wils, president of the Hudson River Park Trust, told the New York Times.

An engineering report earlier this year revealed Pier 40, now a car park and sports facility, is gradually sinking into the Hudson River because of worn-out steel pilings holding up the structure.

The current deal on the table will have to go through a public review process before the project gets the go-ahead.