Forest City Ratner, the developer of the Atlantic Yards project, has found a new architect for the arena to be built for the Nets, reports the Observer. After dropping Frank Gehry, the firm has been on the lookout for a new architect as well as for a way to save face. They settled on SHoP, a New York-based firm that is young and in demand; since SHoP has no arena experience, Forest City Ratner will continue to work with institutional design specialists Ellerbe Becket as well, so that the final product for the $800 million arena will be a collaboration between the two firms. The developer will make renderings available later this month, which will be essential for the next stage of the Atlantic Yards project: selling $700 million in bonds to investors before 2010 in order to qualify for tax-exempt status. And while Forest City moves forward with planning, design, and funding, there is still a major legal hurdle—an October court case regarding eminent domain. The Observer notes, “While Forest City has been victorious at every opportunity thus far, a victory for opponents and affected landowners in that court would certainly doom Mr. Ratner’s years-long efforts.”
Nets Arena To Be Designed by SHoP [NY Observer]
Photo by Tracy Collins