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.
Actually, it’s the proximity to Chuck E. Cheese’s that was supposed to draw in all those millionaire condo buyers.
11:32 Is it your property that is being condemned? are you one of the poor souls being being over twice as much to move? I feel terrible for you. DDDB is full of shit, they need to stop making things up regarding this project. Financing is there this is a project that will be built in phases over a 2 decade period. This market was taken into account. poster 2:17, dead deal? i hope they build part of the arena on top of you living room
If only the powers that be would hand over the project to the original top bidder, Extell. Their plan was so much more reasonable: no arena (with all its obvious drawbacks), and lots of housing (just not so breathtakingly over-scaled.) A real win-win for developer and community.
D-E-A-D-D-E-A-L!!!!
D-O-N-E-D-E-A-L!!!
What’s worries me is that I can’t forget that Metrotech was meant to be done in 5 years and ended up taking 14 years. In other words, Bruce Ratner will simply delay or stretch out the construction in parallel with his ability to maintain sound financing for the project. This might be fine for FCR (albeit not what they’d wish for) but lousy for all those who live near the footprint. Bearing in mind that AY is massively larger than Metrotech, this could easily become a 20-year build out.
it’s just lawyering.
So much for 9:38’s advice, “I would not read too much into this.” After losing every lawsuit to date, project opponents really seem to be grasping at straws. We’ll see, I guess.
What Ratner’s folks are worried about is that they wanted to get their project in the ground before the market dried up. Also, what with all the housing being built in what is TRULY downtown Brooklyn, they see that as their potential buyers being taken away.
They’ll be looking for those millionaire buyers… you know, the ones that would drop the big bucks to live on that stretch of Atlantic Ave, across from Pathmark and Party city and next to a sports arena…
well, when the public was real estate drunk, maybe. Now… not so much.