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Atlantic Yards Project Threatened by Recession
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 21, 2008
Modified Mar 21, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 21, 2008
Modified Mar 21, 2008
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Photograph, above, from Triborough on Flickr; graphic, below, from the NY Times
Developer Bruce Ratner has turned gloomy about his $4 billion project to turn the MTA Atlantic rail yards in downtown Brooklyn into a sports arena, office and residential complex designed by Frank Gehry. In an exclusive interview with the Times, he expressed confidence that construction on the Barclays arena would start by the end of the year. But the "centerpiece" office tower called Miss Brooklyn and three residential buildings that were supposed to be built in the first phase of the project will be postponed for years. And the percentage of affordable housing originally planned has been dialed back.
Without an anchor tenant, the office tower aspect of the project is stalled. Ratner’s company, Forest City, has been desperately sending letters signed by Gehry to the city’s biggest corporations, inviting them to become an anchor tenant in Miss Brooklyn, which was to be completed 2009.
Daniel Goldstein, the last resident remaining in a building on the Atlantic Yards site and a leader of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, notes that the expected cost of the 22-acre project, with its 8 million square feet of apartments, office space, and stores in 16 towers, plus the arena, has now swelled to $950 million, more than double the original $435 million price tag. The City and State have been subsidizing pre-construction costs and have already disbursed $55 million of the promised $300 million.
Another potential obstacle for Ratner is Governor David Paterson, who as a state senator in 2005 called for a statewide moratorium on the use of eminent domain, which is needed to clear the site of about 20 property owners. And the Times architecture critic writes that if the arena is built without the residential or office towers, it will be “an enormous eyesore… and a betrayal of the public trust.” Or, as Goldstein puts it, “a sham.”
Tagged
Atlantic Yards
barclay's arena
economy
nets
project
ratner
recession
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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