The Brooklyn Paper has an article examining whether John Catsimatidis’s stalled Myrtle Avenue development is the first of many setbacks for the grand plans to transform Downtown into a primarily residential area. Joe Chan, the president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, says he’s seeing more and more developers reconsider their projects as the credit crunch dries up financing. “Do developers developing condos [consider] a rental scenario? asks Chan. Do they [consider] a condo project with a hotel component? Absolutely. I think you see a more thorough analysis of their options. Developers’ newfound caution could mean projects are on hold for quite some time, says Ray Quartararo, of Jones Lang LaSalle, and that the full effects of the credit crunch will take years to become fully evident. As it stands now, however, the iffy market will almost certainly put a crimp in some of the ambitious developments the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership expected to see happen in the next five years. In the meantime, plenty of large projects (like BFC’s 150 Myrtle, Avalon Myrtle, the Flatbush Flatiron and Clarett’s Lawrence Street tower) are all moving ahead, so there’s still plenty of inventory in the pipeline. Still people moving into these pads will need a place to shop, and Catsimatidis was supposed to provide some key retail for the area.
Downturn! Big D’Town Project Hits the Brakes [Brooklyn Paper]
Catsimatidis “Taking a Hard Look” at 162 Myrtle Project [Brownstoner]
Downtown Brooklyn in Transition [Brownstoner]
DBP Does Its Five-Year Vision Thing [Brownstoner]