Brodsky, already developer of 664 Pacific, now steering giant 18 Sixth tower as it buys (how much?) into joint venture

Update: the press release, at bottom, indicates 258 units of affordable housing--which was announced in March, actually--but otherwise adds no insight.

Brodsky Organization doubles down on Pacific Park complex wrote the New York Post's Steve Cuozzo late last night in another scoop--remember, he was fed the exclusive last September when Brodksy and TF Cornerstone bought development rights at three sites.

The article stated, "The deal will further accelerate progress at Pacific Park, where the pace is finally picking up after a 13-year go-slow."

What precisely that means is unclear. The deal to join Greenland Forest City Partners (95% owned by Greenland USA) to jointly develop 18 Sixth Avenue, the 859-unit tower (aka B4) at the northeast corner of the arena block, does not necessarily "accelerate progress at Pacific Park," since GFCP had already said that's on the way.

But it's not quite a joint venture with that building:

Greenland Forest City executive vice-president Scott Solish told The Post that Brodsky is “doing 18 Sixth Avenue 664 Pacific on their own but within the framework of the project’s master plan.”

This was corrected to 664 Pacific. Apparently Cuozzo got it wrong initially.

He said that while Greenland is the majority shareholder in the JV, Brodsky “bought a significant piece and will manage development” of 18 Sixth Ave.

(Updated) In other words, that sounds like Brodsky has bought out Greenland completely on that building and, if buying bought "a significant piece" of the joint venture, might be involved in something beyond 18 Sixth, plus the full development rights for the previously announced 664 Pacific Street. 

Groundbreaking, sure, but how much did it cost?

The article notes:

Groundbreaking is to take place within two weeks. The $640 million tower is to be finished in 2022. “We’re a multigenerational family business and we’re bullish on Brooklyn,” said Dean Amro, a Brodsky principal, explaining the company’s long- and short-term perspectives.

Well, we all knew groundbreaking would be relatively soon, but didn't have a price tag on the tower. How much Brodsky is "bullish on Brooklyn" surely depends, at least in part, on GFCP's price tag for a share of the site. From the article:

Solish said that the new JV came about when “we were in the process of closing the deal last fall” for the 664 Pacific site. The Brodskys “approached us” to discuss possibly teaming up elsewhere. “We [already] had plans for 18 Sixth Avenue, so we asked if they were interested in joining us. It happened very organically,” he said.

How far along is the platform?

From the article:

Solish said that Greenland has nearly completed infrastructure work on the exposed LIRR train yard beneath the site, “which will let us start to build a platform” over the open cut.

Yes, we know that the new railyard is almost done, but what's unclear is how much infrastructure needed to build the platform--which requires footings, columns, and foundation walls, among other precursors--remains unclear.

Some sloppy reporting

The article states:

Only five buildings have gone up so far. But the new Brodsky and TF Cornerstone towers will begin to add density to the still- mostly undeveloped triangle where Atlantic and Flatbush avenues converge.

Well, the TF Cornerstone towers (B12, B13) would be on the southeast block of the project, between Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues, north of Dean Street.

Also note:

Forest City’s New York arm, led by Bruce Ratner, got the nod to develop the site from the Empire State Development Corp. in 2005. But Ratner was stalled by construction problems and the 2007 crash. He later got cold feet over fears of a Brooklyn residential “glut.”

The official approval was in December 2006.

And:

He sold Barclays Center to a Russian company and, later, 70 percent of most of his other Pacific Park holdings to Greenland USA in 2013. Greenland upped its stake to 95 percent in January 2018. Forest City now owns only one building at the site, 461 Dean St. Ratner Forest City was sold to Brookfield Asset Management in December.

Actually, Forest City sold the Barclays Center operating company; New York State owns the arena. Forest City, before the Brookfield deal, sold 461 Dean last year to Principal Global Investors.

The press release, verbatim

The press release is below.

Note that, while 18 Sixth is merely proceeding on the previously announced schedule, the claim that "we accelerate development at Pacific Park" was translated into Curbed's Pacific Park megaproject gains steam as construction begins on two new rentals and 6sqft's Pacific Park construction accelerates with groundbreaking at tallest tower.

Greenland Forest City Partners and The Brodsky Organization Announce Partnership to Develop 18 Sixth Avenue at Pacific Park
Joint venture breaks ground on Pacific Park’s most ambitious tower to deliver 258 units of affordable housing
APRIL 23, 2019 (NEW YORK, NY) – Greenland Forest City Partners and The Brodsky Organization today announced a partnership to develop 18 Sixth Avenue (parcel B4) at Pacific Park, the new 22-acre mixed-use neighborhood in the heart of Brooklyn. The joint venture will immediately commence construction of 18 Sixth Avenue, designed by Perkins Eastman and located at Atlantic Avenue and 6th Avenue, which will offer 859 units of mixed-income housing, including 258 units of affordable housing. Construction is expected to be completed in 2022.
Rising to over 500 feet, 18 Sixth Avenue will be Pacific Park’s largest residential building to date and an exciting addition to the ever-changing Brooklyn skyline. The Brodsky Organization has also commenced construction at 664 Pacific Street (parcel B15), which includes a mixed-income rental residential building, expanded open space and a new public school.
“As we accelerate development at Pacific Park, this groundbreaking at 18 Sixth Avenue will be a significant step towards fulfilling our promise to develop a world-class neighborhood in the heart of Brooklyn,” said Scott Solish, Executive Vice President of Development at Greenland Forest City Partners. “We are thrilled to expand and strengthen our relationship with The Brodsky Organization, a developer with a tremendous legacy of developing and operating best in-class projects throughout New York.”
“We are excited to announce our next project in Brooklyn with Greenland Forest City Partners to bring expertly designed, high-quality apartments to downtown Brooklyn,” said Dean Amro, principal at The Brodsky Organization. “Both 664 Pacific Street and 18 Sixth Avenue are both great projects and we look forward to continuing to expand our Brooklyn portfolio.”
To date, Pacific Park has opened four residential buildings: 550 Vanderbilt, a luxury condominium designed by COOKFOX Architects; 535 Carlton and 38 Sixth, two 100 percent all affordable rental buildings offering nearly 600 rental units; and 461 Dean, the tallest modular building in the world. In addition, innovative retail brands and community facilities have opened outposts across Pacific Park, including BKLYN CLAY, Brooklyn’s largest ceramics studio, at 535 Carlton; Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream at 550 Vanderbilt; and a new New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital branch at 38 Sixth Avenue.
In total, Pacific Park will offer 6,430 units of housing, including 2,250 units of affordable housing, as well as office space, neighborhood retail, community facilities and eight acres of publicly accessible open space. Pacific Park also features substantial infrastructure improvements including a new storage and maintenance facility for the Long Island Railroad, new rail access to and from the Atlantic Terminal station, and significant improvements to the infrastructure network in the surrounding area. The site is anchored by the sports and entertainment arena Barclays Center and Atlantic Terminal Transit Hub along the Atlantic Avenue corridor.
For more information about Pacific Park Brooklyn, please visit www.pacificparkbrooklyn.com