Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Well, Greenland Forest City Partners (GFCP) still doesn't sound completely confident that work on the first phase of the platform, crucial to the construction of three towers, will start in the second half of this year. That's according to the latest six-month look-ahead (bottom), covering the second half of 2022, that the master developer is supposed to file with Empire State Development (ESD), which oversees/shepherds the project. Also, GFCP does not say that any specific work on the B5 tower--700 Atlantic Avenue, also bordered by Sixth Avenue and Pacific Street--would start in this half of the year, according to the document. That said, the developer has said B5 wouldn't rise until next year, and it's not unlikely some of the work announced contributes to that parcel, even if the tower isn't mentioned. That document, dated 6/9/22,  again says--as it did in three previous iterations --that "Platform construction may commence during the reporting period."

The Barclays Center operating company made an $18 million profit, of sorts, in the first six months of calendar year 2022, according to financial documents recently disclosed to bondholders. See screenshot at right. But that result, coupled with a stagnant first half of the 2022 fiscal year, won't be enough to cover the arena's construction debt in FY 2022, which ended June 30. So that means that owner Joe Tsai will have to dip into his pocketbook to cover the payments, as he has pledged . Limited schedule So even a busy season for the Brooklyn Nets, with high ticket prices, didn't make up for a slow schedule for other events, including concerts. As I wrote in February, the arena company barely broke even in the first half of the fiscal year--see screenshot at left--but needs some $37.8 million for required PILOTs, or payments in lieu of taxes , of which $26.2 million goes toward debt service on arena construction bonds. Most of the rest goes back to the arena company to b

Aug. 5, 2022 The escalators at the arena plaza have been out since at least July 22, as I wrote , but I couldn't get any explanation from the arena operator as to how long or why. Was it associated with plaza repair work? That seems unlikely. Rather, it's just another example of faulty equipment and/or maintenance. On Friday, Aug. 5, when I walked by, the escalators were under repair. In fact, the down escalator was running, albeit without any access, apparently as part of a test run. The up escalator was getting worked on. So maybe they'll both be running soon, (Or who knows, maybe they fixed the problems by the end of the day.) But this shouldn't be the realm of speculation. A responsible operator--the arena company operates the escalator, as it controls the plaza--should make it easier to find out when the escalators (and elevator) are out of operation, when work is scheduled, and when the problem is expected to be fixed--and fixed. It shouldn't be that complicat

The latest Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Construction Update (bottom), covering the two weeks beginning Monday, Aug. 8, was circulated 8/5/22 at 10:51 pm (lead time) by Empire State Development (ESD) after preparation by Greenland Forest City Partners (GFCP), which is dominated by Greenland USA. There's not much new compared to the  previous update , and the document again excludes the most dramatic change around the project footprint--the work at the arena plaza for revamping of the pavement and other features.  The one notable change regards work on the southeast block, at the B12/B13 (615 Dean St.595 Dean St.) sites: The removal of the West Courtyard Sidewalk Shed (the north half of the sidewalk shed located between the West tower of 595 Dean St. and 535 Carlton Ave. may be scheduled for the week of 8/15/22. Courtyard fencing between East tower [615 Dean St.]and 550 Vanderbilt Ave. as well as the West tower and 535 Carlton Ave. may be installed so that the build out of the open sp

In my post yesterday about Greenland USA's challenges in the face of its parent company's financial strictures, I briefly raised a question: what else does the developer have to sell--future development rights to the railyard? to Site 5?--to fund the project going forward. Responding to my tweet, Gib Veconi, who as a leader of the BrooklynSpeaks coalition and a member of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation is a key voice influencing local elected officials, suggested , "Development rights over railyards likely not marketable now due to looming #affordablehousing deadline and associated remedies." Yes, but... I think he's mostly right, but with some asterisks. As of now, given the May 2025 deadline to deliver 877 (or 876) more units of affordable housing, after which the developer--Greenland Forest City Partners (GFCP), owned 95% by Greenland USA--faces $2,000/month fines for each missing unit, no developer would want to buy development rights fo

Remember the advice , nearly three years ago, from Wall Street Journal columnist Mike Bird to sell Greenland Holdings Group (aka Greenland Holding Group), the parent of the main Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park developer, Greenland USA? He was right, as the company's stock price has dropped by more than half, as explained below. Bird's 8/28/19 column observed that that, despite growing property prices in China, and Shanghai-based Greenland celebrating a Forbes rank for fastest revenue growth, there were reasons to worry. (Note: Bird's original tweet, cited in my post, was later deleted.) While Greenland had cut debt in half, from a stratospheric figure, it had doubled "unearned revenues," which refers to properties bought by customers but not yet delivered. That left Greenland with a dangerously high figure of debt to assets of 89%, a bit higher than even some other large developers. Indeed, with the pandemic and national policies upending previous patterns, Greenland&

There's a huge new tower in Long Island City called Sven , 71 stories, with 958 units, 288 of them "affordable" for middle-income households earning 130% of Area Median Income, or AMI, the minimum required to get the lucrative 421-a tax break. Developed by  Durst Organization  and designed by  Handel Architects , the building offers amenities like a gym, yoga/dance studio, pool, and media room. Units  boast  floor-to-ceiling windows, Blomberg washer & dryer, polished quartz kitchen, and Grohe bath fixtures. At the developer's website  LIC Rent Regulated --they're not stressing "affordable"--they encouraged people to apply to the housing lottery, "[i]f your combined household income is between $68,229 and $192,400." (The lottery ended on 3/21/22.) Another way of putting it: studios start at $1,990 and one-bedrooms at $2,132, as shown in the screenshot below. A closer look But wait. Take a look more closely at Housing Connect , and see that