Pol Questions State's Sale of ENY Site Walmart is Eying

Assemblywoman Inez Barron sent a letter to Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli asking his office to investigate the terms of the deal for developer the Related Cos. to acquire the East New York land where it intends to build the Gateway II shopping center, according to a story in Crain’s. Barron says site in question, which Walmart is said to be sweet on, was supposed to be sold to Related for $32.5 million back in 2009 but that the developer is only going to pay $14.5 million for the property. The assemblywoman says Related agreed to the higher price before the land was rezoned for commercial use, which should have made it more valuable, but then asked the state to lower the price in part because of the market downturn. A Related spokeswoman says the $32.5 million price tag “did not reflect restrictions on the use of the land and were based on a different deal structure that included up to $10 million in state incentives.” The company is poised to turn to the state-owned property into a 630,000-square-foot mall, rendered above. The article notes that the assemblywoman “has been a vocal opponent of Walmart and is married to its chief challenger, City Councilman Charles Barron.”
Sweetheart Deal Alleged for Possible Walmart Site [Crain’s]