Boymelgreen Project Stuck in the Mud
Transfer, the obsessive documenter of “anti-sit” installations, documents the lack of progress at the development site on Smith between Atlantic and State. When we last checked, this was supposed to the a 13-story red-brick building containing 50 condos and 93 hotel rooms. The developer? Boymelgreen. Slow Moving State Street Site [Transfer] GMAP Development Update at…
Transfer, the obsessive documenter of “anti-sit” installations, documents the lack of progress at the development site on Smith between Atlantic and State. When we last checked, this was supposed to the a 13-story red-brick building containing 50 condos and 93 hotel rooms. The developer? Boymelgreen.
Slow Moving State Street Site [Transfer] GMAP
Development Update at Smith and State [Brownstoner]
I really feel sorry for you living next door to a building that won’t be completed until January 2008 or later, with a bunch of losers running the job. it erks me to see bricks go up and then get ripped down so they can put them up again and they look the same. There will be corners cut and improper (paid off)inspections to get it done, as Boysmelgreen is great at buying of the building department. The Hersha Hotel Chain has bought the lower 5 floors in this building, I wonder what their loses are? From what I have been told by Atan on the job site, “he is now running the job and will make it run faster.” Fat chance when the Contractors don’t get paid on time, are treated like crap and Boysmelgreen has fired or pushed away anyone that knew what this job was about(10 experts and counting). Now we hear that Jeff Amangual – “Director of Construction” is on the case…the same guy that DESTROYED One Key Corporation and helped to bury one of the owners after he left him in such bad financial shape. Think this is a joke, 85 Adams has people living in it with no fire alarm systems, Shaya bought a TCO from the CITY…two months ago, and the building’s still not done with people wondering if they will be able to continue living there. Oh well I will count the bricks with you as I walk to work across the street each day.
We live right next door to 75 Smith and just simply can not believe how long it takes for this building to be completed. As far as we know, buyers were told that they can move in january 2007. (!!) It is almost april and it’s still a ‘raw construction site’. We are wondering how many buyers are displaced from there apartments… Whenever we walk buy in the morning and we see some activity, we keep joking that they are putting up the ‘brick of the day’.
There is a crane and a cement truck working there today.
I love the way the murals get taken down and randomly reassembled when they put the plywood back up.
Yes I saw that steel work – it was about 2mo ago, but remember that hole was dug almost 1.5yrs ago and now the work has stopped.
There is no question Bolymegreen has tons of capital behind him, and in many ways his delays have only helped him since the market has made each delayed apartment more valuable, but people should realize that it cost millions of dollars when projects like this are delayed,and should the market turn the costs increase exponetially.
Not to mention that it seems every completed project has major problems w/ litigation instituted or threatened and an Attorney General overwhelmed with complaints; which obviously makes approval of future projects that much more complicated.
Only time will tell but Bolymegreen seems to be on a well worn path toward disaster, despite having very strong capital behind him at this point.
David… you mean the 12 story bldg going up on 4th Ave between 4th and 5th Streets? I have no inside info but it doesn’t look stalled to me. Over the past few weeks, they’ve begin erecting the steel frame (or whatever it’s called) — a couple stories’ worth last I looked. Work had seemed to stop for a while before that, but I dunno why.
There are the union protesters that seem to be at every Boymelgreen development, but that doesn’t appear to have stopped the work.
P.S. And if you want to know where Leviev got his money from, read this article from Forbes about the dirty business of diamonds:
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/0915/108_print.html
Sorry, but I don’t see Shaya Boymelgreen going belly up as long as he has the deep pockets of Lev Leviev and Africa-Israeli Investments backing him. When he developed Newswalk, he was an individual investor. These days, his Leviev-Boymelgreen Developers has the backing of Leviev’s billions. They spent some $130 million buying 14 propertis in Miami recently. It may appear that they are over-extended, but they have the money to extend a great distance. Not that Boymelgreen was any small developer on his own, but with that kind of capital, he’s able to do a lot more than any small-time Brooklyn developers.
While most construction sites are eyesores, at least this one is adorned with some pretty terrific street art. I think it was painted as part of the Atlantic Ave. Artwalk a few months back. And thank goodness, it remains–the site’s only redeeming quality.
Bolymegreen is clearly stretched way too thin and will be the 1st to collapse when the bubble goes pop. Not only are they swampped with complaints regarding their already completed developments in Dumbo and PS, they have numerous stalled projects including 2 holes on 4th avenue (@ 4th Street and 2nd Street), this hole at Atlantic and State, at least one stalled project in Dumbo (off Jay St) and at least on in NYC- 50 Broad St. Not to mention they just bought 14 Wall St and apparently have projects in Florida – 4 yrs ago Bolymegreen was a tiny operation (see recent NYT article), my guess is that unless the market keeps bailing them out, they will be a small outfit again