Credit Crunch Hits Kensington
A few months before the credit crisis, 23 Caton Place was having financial trouble of its own. Perhaps it was a harbinger of what was to come, and a sign that Kensington would suffer when trouble reached beyond the neighborhood. The Real Deal reports this month on Kensington’s development woes. “Until the credit crunch, developers…
A few months before the credit crisis, 23 Caton Place was having financial trouble of its own. Perhaps it was a harbinger of what was to come, and a sign that Kensington would suffer when trouble reached beyond the neighborhood. The Real Deal reports this month on Kensington’s development woes. “Until the credit crunch, developers had zeroed in on a seven-square-block area in Kensington bounded by Fort Hamilton Parkway to the north, Coney Island Avenue to the east, Caton Avenue to the south and Ocean Parkway Service Road to the west.” Now, 23 Caton is an abandoned skeleton, 22 Caton’s in trouble, too, and other condo projects at “sluggish.” Not that it’s all bad news: prices are up 18 percent since 2005, and the area is being reviewed for a downzoning to prevent such overblown development in the future.
Merry-go-round Stops in Kensington [The Real Deal]
Photo by pscarman.
A few thoughts –
First, the site of “Caton on the Park” (23 Caton Place) is not, in my mind, abandoned. The lights are still on, and a security guard patrols the site at least a few times each week. Someone is still taking some level of responsibility for the site. However, the site is clearly neglected, and both commercial and residential dumping are making things worse:
http://tinyurl.com/6d99sm
I also wanted to highlight an article from the New York Times over the weekend, which tells the story of a similar stalled development in the Bronx (although hopefully 23 Caton’s woes are not as sordid as Tulfan Terrace’s appear to be):
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/nyregion/07riverdale.html
I believe there is a larger story here, which is not yet getting much coverage by the major media.
“The 107-unit Karl Fischer-designed condo, which was dubbed “Caton on the Park,” now sits half finished. The developer ran into financial trouble, and the Department of Buildings issued a stop-work order in April after construction workers walked off the job. ”
Now why do you I rant! When the Mutant Asset Bubble implodes there will be carnage all over the place. The sad thing about this is it just got started. Banks are pulling deals from construction financing and this problem will get worse.
“What will become of the skeleton at 23 Caton Place? If a new developer were to buy it, do they have to tear it down and start again? ”
Get your head around this! In 1997 Thailand had a massive housing bubble then the Asian currency crisis hit! Developers left half completed building standing, they was never brought or torn down.
1997 Asian Financial Crisis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_financial_crisis
The crisis started in Thailand with the financial collapse of the Thai baht caused by the decision of the Thai government to float the baht, cutting its peg to the USD, after exhaustive efforts to support it in the face of a severe financial overextension that was in part real estate driven. At the time, Thailand had acquired a burden of foreign debt that made the country effectively bankrupt even before the collapse of its currency. As the crisis spread, most of Southeast Asia and Japan saw slumping currencies, devalued stock markets and other asset prices, and a precipitous rise in private debt.[1]
The reason I used Thailand as a example because it show how fast a Mutant Asset bubble can implode and leaving everyone in dire straits…
The What
Someday this war is gonna end..
Oh BTW You see this thing (Mutant Asset Bubble) is getting real bad….
Ruska, if it’s abandoned and not taken care of it’s abandoned and not taken care of.
Keep a notebook on any incidents and even better if you can take photos if anything happens.
Also, this is a case where calling 311 and asking would make sense.
I have a funny feeling you won’t be the first or last person to call them.
What will become of the skeleton at 23 Caton Place? If a new developer were to buy it, do they have to tear it down and start again? Does an unfinished bldg left open to the elements become unsafe at some point? I live nearby and I just want that thing GONE–I am just trying to figure out which scenario can make that happen…