The winner of the International competition to design a new Port Authority bus terminal is ... nobody.

The bi-state agency delivered the news Tuesday that no winner will be named after the five finalists are announced on Thursday.



"There won't be the recommendation of a winner," said an authority official who asked not to be identified. "There may be pieces from [each design] taken."



A statement released Tuesday said the same thing in a more roundabout way.



"The agency's Board of Commissioners has not yet been presented with these concepts and the panel will not designate a recommended concept," it said.

P.A. promises bus terminal will stay in NYC

The authority announced the design competition in October when it approved proceeding with a replacement for the bus terminal. In June, the agency revealed the eight experts who would evaluate the entries.



New Jersey and New York officials were given a preview of the five designs.



"We won't see a winner unveiled," said State Senator Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, who saw the preview. "No single proposal was overwhelming."



The majority of the designs were based on a new terminal on the West Side of Manhattan, she said. One design suggested the possibility of splitting a terminal between a Manhattan and New Jersey location, Weinberg said.



The 66-year-old Midtown Manhattan terminal, serves about 232,000 passengers each weekday and will require either replacement or structural repairs.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.