Hudson Yards seeks federal funds for second phase of platform, but that wouldn't work for Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park (which means?)

“At the end of the day, it’s all about the cost of the capital," Forest City Enterprises executive Bob O'Brien said in 2010. But finding money to build infrastructure isn't easy.

The initial phase of the platform to deck Hudson Yards in Manhattan's far West Side relied on EB-5 financing, low-cost loans from immigrant investors seeking green cards--as did vertical construction, which analyst Gary Friedland suggested was less justifiable.

But EB-5 is far less accessible these days. That's perhaps part of why the platform over the Vanderbilt Yard--to support six towers, ultimately--has been delayed, with developer Greenland USA Partners (dominated by Greenland USA) announcing plans to finally start this year but not yet disclosing details about funding or contractors.

Meanwhile, the Hudson Yards developers have a plan. In Trump ally to seek cheap federal loan to build second half of Hudson Yards, Politico's Dana Rubinstein reports today:

[Related Companies] and Amtrak are poised to file an application for more than $1 billion in low-cost debt from the federal transportation department to help fund a platform over the West Side rail yard. The platform would support the second half of a skyscraper city so gilded that some call it Manhattan’s Little Dubai.
On Feb. 11, Related Hudson Yards President Jay Cross and Amtrak Chief Operating Officer Stephen Gardner signed an agreement to pursue the loan, according to details acquired by POLITICO. If successful, the deal could pave the way for Related to begin construction on Hudson Yards’ second phase — several new skyscrapers bounded by 11th and 12th avenues, 30th and 33rd streets.
Related needs Amtrak to co-sign the loan application because the federal funding pool requires a railroad's participation.

That offers a benefit to Amtrak, given help for "Amtrak’s still-aspirational Gateway tunnel" under the Hudson River.

Is federal funding possible for the Vanderbilt Yard deck? Unlikely, given that the players are the city and the state. (It shouldn't be ruled out if/when the Sunnyside Yard moves forward, given that Amtrak has a role.)

But you can bet the developers in Brooklyn are looking for ways to keep the cost of capital down.