Is Atlantic Yards Funding in Jeopardy?
Representatives for Forest City Ratner have filed court papers claiming that ongoing litigation and turmoil in the financial markets may jeopardize Atlantic Yards funding, according to an article in today’s Post. The documents were filed on Friday regarding the appeal Develop Don’t Destroy is seeking for the lawsuit challenging the project’s environmental impact review. An…
Representatives for Forest City Ratner have filed court papers claiming that ongoing litigation and turmoil in the financial markets may jeopardize Atlantic Yards funding, according to an article in today’s Post. The documents were filed on Friday regarding the appeal Develop Don’t Destroy is seeking for the lawsuit challenging the project’s environmental impact review. An affidavit (see copy on jump) submitted by Andrew Silberfein, Forest City Ratner’s executive vice president and director of finance, sheds some light on the complicated web of financing for the more than $4 billion project, which involves having Goldman Sachs serve as the lead underwriter for bonds that will finance the Nets arena’s construction. Silberfein’s affidavit goes on to say:
As the Court surely is aware, the credit markets are in turmoil at this time. Many lenders and bond insurers are facing financial difficulties, and are becoming much more cautious. It is not clear what the financial climate will be in several months, when the arena bond financing is made available to the public…there is a serious question as to whether, given the current state of the debt market, the underwriters will be able to proceed with the financing for the arena while the appeal is pending before this Court.
In response, an attorney for Develop Don’t Destroy said would-be financial backers know “how much of a risk” AY is.
Court Trouble [NY Post]
Anti-AY Lawsuits: And Then There Was One [Brownstoner]
Rendering from AtlanticYards.com.
There is no meaningful penalty if/when Ratner abandons the affordable housing component of AY. The agreement with Acorn stipulates that he must pay them $500,000 if he doesn’t follow through. Big f***ing deal. He is also under no obligation to build the affordable housing at AY itself. It could be off-site in Crown Heights or East New York.
I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the “affordable” segment of this project – the carrot dangled in front of ACORN, the Rev. Daughtry, et al, in order for them to sign on – gets totally dumped. As in “We couldn’t get all of the funding we needed. As it says in the fine print, the affordable units will be built last, dependent upon the success of the rest of the project. Project isn’t doing too well. No money for affordable housing. So sorry.”
Fort Greene is cool.
I think you can safely lay down 1.5 on a prime FG house that needs about 500K of reno.
8:05: Brooklyn will be worthless once AY is built. Duh.
PS: Free Mumia!
This is a way off topic…
But, since we’re talking about FG/PH and this site is supposed to be about brownstone Brooklyn, I thought there would be locals on this thread who might know something about FG real estate. We live in FG and have been looking to buy and renovate in the nabe. I am wondering, considering the mess that is(?)/could(?) or not happen with AY, if it worth dropping 1.75 to 2m on a basic double-duplex or owner-duplex-plus-two-rentals in prime FG that needs a real reno? Is the nabe going to remain “goldenish” or at least stable through this downturn?
Can someone estimate what we should expect to offer for a 4-floor “regular” townhouse in prime Fort Greene that needs a real reno? Basically, by “prime†I mean “prime commuting walking distance and decent shopping‖anything south of DeKalb and west of, say, Clermont. By “real reno” I mean, new everything like windows, electric, heat/hot water systems, bathrooms and kitchens but the bones are decent with some details still intact…maybe new interior woodwork around windows and doors.
We have looked at a couple of places and don’t want (can’t afford) the really big houses like on South Portland and the park. And we don’t like the smaller ones on Carlton between Greene and Layette…saw one and its “garden†floor was really only a cellar with windows. We’re more in the market for an in-between sized brick rowhouse like on Lafayette or something.
The backyards in most of FG are not that deep like they are in Prospect Heights but really, it is more the convenience to all the trains in FG and the feel of the neighborhood we like. And, we live here now and don’t want to leave.
Are all prices in prime FG near the trains well north of 1.6 even for places that, frankly, need a real reno?
Feedback please. Thanks!
PS some of the stores in the mall at Flatbush/Atlantic are actually a plus. It’s convenient to have a Target sometimes and a Pathmark too even though it’s blah…and it was very convenient to run down to Old Navy last minute to get a gift card for a neighbor’s 12 year old’s birthday. But all that aside, we have some pretty decent eating and shopping and the green market, etc. in FG.
The other interesting factor is the roumours of a Jason Kidd trade. Making the Nets one step closer to being both useless and worthless . . . . until we build them a stadium of course. Then they’ll just be useless.
Re Chucky Cheese and Party City, and don’t forget the wing place, I never understood how they thought they could lure well to do people to live on top of that drab, hellish intersection. Were they going to shop at the Albee Square Mall? There is a lot of charm in Brooklyn, but it isn’t to be found at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue. Most housing developments in the city are surrounded by really dreary stores – dry cleaners, card stores, grungy chinese restaurants and so on – I never saw how they were going to get high rollers to live there. There was an article today about the Oro cutting prices and I think that is why Ratner may be thinking about pulling out – It just doesn’t make sense from a financial point of view.
Said it once and I’ll say it again, this is a great deal if you happen to own a basketball team.
For the rest of Brooklyn, we’re out $2 billion dollars and have congestion, pollution and a losing basketball team to show for it. Woo frikkin’ hoo.
go nets. if ratner needs cash he’ll just sell half of cleveland. peace.