Gilmartin, in new job as REIT's interim CEO, claims she "leased thousands of units" at Pacific Park Brooklyn. No way.
Former Forest City Ratner/Forest City New York CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin, who left for L&L MAG and then (slowly) established MAG Partners, is also now board chair and interim CEO of the real estate investment trust Mack-Cali, after a board shakeup led by activist investors.
In speaking to investment analysts 8/3/20, she buffed the history of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park by claiming, wrongly, that she had "leased thousands of units" at the project, even though only 964 rental units had been built, with 81% of them "affordable" and thus--in the main--easier to lease.
In other words, it was not as much of an achievement as she professed.
From the transcript
From Edited Transcript of Mack-Cali Realty Corp earnings conference call or presentation Monday, August 3, 2020 (which I confirmed after listening to the audio), an excerpt from Gilmartin's prepared closing remarks:
Let's put aside that the restructuring and recapitalization of Atlantic Yards led to it being renamed Pacific Park Brooklyn in 2014 by the new majority owner, Greenland USA, well after the Great Recession and after the failure of Forest City's much-ballyhooed plan for modular construction to save money and rescue the project.
Let's put aside that the restructuring and recapitalization of Atlantic Yards led the parent Forest City Realty Trust to declare significant financial impairments.
Let's put aside that Atlantic Yards, as well as the Ridge Hill project in Yonkers, were targets for significant criticism by activist investors, and contributed to the shake-up of the parent company's board and the eventual narrow vote to sell to Brookfield.
There's no way Gilmartin (or her team) could have "leased" "thousands of units."
Of the 1,242 units completed, 278 were in 550 Vanderbilt, a condo tower, as shown in the graphic below, from a 3/15/19 presentation by developer Greenland USA (which bought out Forest City almost completely) to the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation.
Note: while a good number of those condo units have been leased by the condo owners, that has nothing to do with any developer.
Moreover, all the units at 535 Carlton and 38 Sixth, plus half those at 461 Dean, are deemed affordable, and were initially leased through the city's housing lottery, which is enormously competitive for low- and moderate-income units. (It's been tougher to lease middle-income units, since they compete with market-rate ones.)
Also, given that the only building Forest City built exclusively was 461 Dean, and Greenland Forest City Partners, 70% owned by Greenland USA, leased the two "100% affordable" buildings, it's dubious for anyone from Forest City to take credit.
In other words, Gilmartin was spinning.
In speaking to investment analysts 8/3/20, she buffed the history of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park by claiming, wrongly, that she had "leased thousands of units" at the project, even though only 964 rental units had been built, with 81% of them "affordable" and thus--in the main--easier to lease.
In other words, it was not as much of an achievement as she professed.
From the transcript
From Edited Transcript of Mack-Cali Realty Corp earnings conference call or presentation Monday, August 3, 2020 (which I confirmed after listening to the audio), an excerpt from Gilmartin's prepared closing remarks:
I'd like to conclude with a comment on leadership through a change and challenge. Many of my career milestones have been amid and through crises. After 9/11, I led the construction and leasing of the first two new office buildings in New York to rise after the attacks of 9/11, one in Brooklyn for Empire BlueCross BlueShield, which sustained significant loss of life and space on World Trade Center.
In Times Square post 9/11, I led the construction and lease-up of the New York Times Tower, faced with what the industry deemed to be an undesirable location marked as a terrorist target across from the Port Authority sitting atop 11 subway lines. Yet we achieved record-breaking rents in record time on the highest tower floors, which the industry said would be shunned after the attacks.
In Lower Manhattan, I led the team that financed, built, and leased over 900 rental units at New York by Gehry through the 2007 banking crisis, when experts wrote off the multifamily market in New York City. On the heels of the Great Recession, I stepped in to lead the restructuring and recapitalization of Pacific Park Brooklyn, and leased thousands of units after it was plagued by delay and litigation.(Emphasis added)
Let's put aside that the restructuring and recapitalization of Atlantic Yards led to it being renamed Pacific Park Brooklyn in 2014 by the new majority owner, Greenland USA, well after the Great Recession and after the failure of Forest City's much-ballyhooed plan for modular construction to save money and rescue the project.
Let's put aside that the restructuring and recapitalization of Atlantic Yards led the parent Forest City Realty Trust to declare significant financial impairments.
Let's put aside that Atlantic Yards, as well as the Ridge Hill project in Yonkers, were targets for significant criticism by activist investors, and contributed to the shake-up of the parent company's board and the eventual narrow vote to sell to Brookfield.
There's no way Gilmartin (or her team) could have "leased" "thousands of units."
Of the 1,242 units completed, 278 were in 550 Vanderbilt, a condo tower, as shown in the graphic below, from a 3/15/19 presentation by developer Greenland USA (which bought out Forest City almost completely) to the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation.
 |
| From 3/15/19 presentation to Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation |
Moreover, all the units at 535 Carlton and 38 Sixth, plus half those at 461 Dean, are deemed affordable, and were initially leased through the city's housing lottery, which is enormously competitive for low- and moderate-income units. (It's been tougher to lease middle-income units, since they compete with market-rate ones.)
Also, given that the only building Forest City built exclusively was 461 Dean, and Greenland Forest City Partners, 70% owned by Greenland USA, leased the two "100% affordable" buildings, it's dubious for anyone from Forest City to take credit.
In other words, Gilmartin was spinning.
Comments
Post a Comment