Key Form of AY Arena Financing Appears Shaky
A big chunk of financing for Atlantic Yards may be in jeopardy, the Times reports. The IRS is looking to end the days of tax-exempt bond giveaways for pro sports teams’ projects, a form of financing that Forest City Ratner was counting on for its $950 million Barclays Center. The Nets facility is expected to…
A big chunk of financing for Atlantic Yards may be in jeopardy, the Times reports. The IRS is looking to end the days of tax-exempt bond giveaways for pro sports teams’ projects, a form of financing that Forest City Ratner was counting on for its $950 million Barclays Center. The Nets facility is expected to be the most expensive arena in the world. Forest City Ratner had expected to raise about $800 million in tax-exempt bonds. Real estate pros say the arena will be much harder to bring to fruition if the tax-exempt dough doesn’t come through. Forest City Ratner is poised to get more than $2 billion in tax subsidies for Atlantic Yards, according to reports published earlier this year, but the developer says that may not be enough public financing for the project to be realized. The move by the IRS could also impact plans for the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx among other projects.
A Question Mark Looms Over 3 Expensive Projects [NY Times]
You Pay and the Nets Will Play [NY Times]
Photo by andriz.
Ratner is *not* being given $2,000,000,000.
I don’t know why people keep reporting these lies.
Tax breaks and bond financing are used all the time to construct residential real estate in this city. The benefits the AY will receive are also intended to offset the cost of environmental remediation and extremely high site improvements – the kind of improvements that are so unusual and speculative no traditional lender would ever consider them. It is totally irrational to consider the difference between market financing and bond financing a cash benefit as market financing is totally not available.
The PILOT program is generous, but not radically different from the 421(a) program.
The point is AY is not getting substantially more preference than say, Avalon Bay, when they construct an 80/20 apartment building.
I have yet to see an intelligent breakdown of the $2B figure. So, if I am missing something – please let me know.
a pigeon takes a crap near the yards and gabby would write a story on it.
hey brownstoner – how about getting someone on staff who is pro AY (or at least not raving anti development) to even things out on this website a bit.
ratner > gabby
Wow, Team Ratner (guest 1:02PM) is getting pretty desperate if they need to slag off anti-AY supporters because they are, shock-horror, property owners. I mean obviously being worth a couple of million on paper makes a person entirely unqualified to criticize a private developer who is expecting a $2 billion tax-payer subsidy.
Yeah, what bxgirl said.
1:02. I certainly want more money. It’s just that, like Ratner, I’d rather take someone else’s than earn it. But let’s not argue. See you by the Bentley with your check.
Having money isn’t the problem. Asking that taxes be used to add to your personal hoard is.
Johnny, if you want money, you should go to the anti-AY opponents. Daniel Goldstein has so much money that he’s been able to devote the past four years of his life to fighting Ratner. Also, his father is a hedge fund manager. Lumi Rolley, who runs nolandgrab, owns a brownstoner in park slope and a second home on long island. maybe she could sell them and make a donation. her husband, Eric McClure sold his company for a mint a few years back, so maybe you could hit him up, too. I’d suggest that you also ask Patti hagan, as she owns several buildings in prime brooklyn neighborhoods, but she was recently ousted and senor Goldstein refused to tell the press why, even as he decries Ratner for not being transparent.
$2 billion to Ratner is realism? It’s completely $%#$ing insane to most people.
IRS is going to look long and hard at a project that seeks to avoid taxes on $2 billion of non-tax funding on a $4 billion project that FCR itself says is going to generate $1 billion in tax revenue. . . .over 30 years.
Since my suggestion for AY proponents to donate the shortfall themselves didn’t get a lot of positive response (odd really), another fiscal challenge to them:
Give me $2 million today. I’ll spend some of it, thereby increasing employment and economic growth and, over the next 30 years I’ll give you $1 million of it back. Bring your checks and form a line next to Ratner’s Bentley. Parked at 7th Ave and 9th street most mornings.
LOL, gotta love that optimism! cracks me up every time …
Thanks for injecting some realism into this thread, 11:18, something in short supply amongst the anti-AY crowd these days.
But their behavior is understandable, as their long record of losses in court has left them with no option but to fantasize.
D-O-N-E-D-E-A-L!!!