Eight bids for Starrett City, the enormous East New York affordable housing complex, were submitted yesterday. Offers for the 5,881-apartment property are going from $700 million to $900 million, a great deal less than the $1.3 billion that real estate firm Clipper Equities wanted to pay for Starrett last year. Clipper’s bid was blocked by state officials last year on the grounds that it was too high to ensure continued affordability at the complex; last month, Starrett’s current owners made a deal with the city, state and federal government to keep the complex affordable for the next 20 years. The current bidder mix includes private development firms and affordable housing nonprofits. We are light-years ahead of where we were over a year ago when an oversized and overpriced bid for Starrett City would have changed the development forever and forced thousands of tenants from their homes, said Senator Charles Schumer, who played a big part in blocking the Clipper buy. The good news is that we have a framework in place that will protect the next generation of Starrett City residents and keep this New York City landmark affordable in this sale. The smaller offering prices this year for Starrett reflect not only the fact that the 46-tower property will need to stay affordable but also that the real estate boom’s days are behind us.
8 New Bids for Starrett City Complex [NY Times]
Bidders Prep Starrett City Offers [Brownstoner]
Photo from Gotham Gazette.