Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Flashback: "Atlantic Yards Is ___"? ( link ) The gnomic question persists. A look at many changes. Photo: Tracy Collins

BSE Global's pursuit of an "ecosystem" of assets in Brooklyn ( link ) continues, with the surprising-but-maybe-not acquisition of the landmarked retail space in the base of the historic Williamsburgh Savings Bank tower at One Hanson Place. It's barely five minutes by foot--though with busy Flatbush Avenue and the Atlantic Terminal shopping mall as barriers--from the Barclays Center. As the Real Deal reported , based on the scoop from PincusCo, BSE Global--which owns the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, the Barclays Center operating company, and more--paid "$10.3 million" for that gorgeous vaulted space in a foreclosure auction. (The price, according to city records, was $10,265,275.)  The tower, for some 80 years the tallest building in Brooklyn at 512 feet but since eclipsed by many new towers, was an office building, with a bank at the base until 2006, after which the office space was converted to condos.  The cost, via ACRIS (Here's Brownstoner's

Weekly Digest: Community Engagement or Developer Engagement? ( link ) Set to approve "permitted developer," Empire State Development says it will launch outreach regarding six tower sites over railyard. But Related's already been lobbying.

This is the second of two articles on the Nov. 14  meeting  of the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC). The first  concerned the emergence of a "permitted developer" for six tower sites and questions about enforcing the affordable housing deadline. A main topic of the meeting, vaguely billed as "Community Engagement," suggests that Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, is moving ahead with plans regarding the six towers (B5-B10) over the  Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s two-block Vanderbilt Yard. Remember, as I reported yesterday, a "permitted developer"--a joint venture involving Hudson Yards developer Related Companies and two financial partners--is about to take control over those development rights, below Atlantic Avenue between Sixth and Carlton avenues. Thus, ESD will seek public input to either 1) help shape the project's future (at the mar

This is the first of two articles on the Nov. 14 meeting of the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC). The second concerned "community engagement" regarding the future of the six tower sites over the Vanderbilt Yard platform. OK, my prediction was a little off. Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project, was not quite ready to announce that a new joint venture involving Hudson Yards developer Related Companies has qualified as a “permitted developer,” thus stepping in, thanks to a foreclosure auction, to develop six development sites (B5-B10) over the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Vanderbilt Yard. But they’re pretty close. ESD’s Anna Pycior, Senior VP, Community Relations, said the state authority was “completing our review of their documents, and once the review is satisfactory… we would proceed with the new joint venture. We don't anticipate issues moving forward.” That could happen “

2024 valuation; screenshot from Forbes NBA teams have gained an average of 15% in value over the past year, according to the latest estimates from Forbes, released Oct. 24. But the estimated value of the Brooklyn rose 25%,  the second-largest increase in the league (as noted by NetsDaily), to $4.8 billion. That ranks  the Nets eighth in the league. They were 13th in the 2023 valuations.  That rise bolsters the argument that Joe Tsai, primary owner of the team and the arena company, should pay for the privilege of getting a permanent plaza outside the arena, as it serves both visitors and sponsors. Big bucks Forbes estimates the Golden State Warriors  are worth $8.8 billion, the New York Knicks $7.5 billion, and the Los Angeles Lakers $7.1 billion, with only four NFL teams and MLB's New York Yankees over that benchmark. Notably, the thirst for NBA ownership--like "paintings for billionaires," as Jay-Z once said--means that, over the past decade, the value as a multiple

The typically opaque agenda (right) for a meeting of the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC) was released yesterday. It includes the boilerplate action of approval of the previous meeting's minutes, then the broad term "Updates and Follow-Ups." (The Agenda and Meeting Materials, which is minutes from the last meeting, are at bottom.) That might indicate, as I wrote last week, that Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, has determined that a joint venture including Hudson Yards developer Related Companies constitutes a "preferred developer" for six parcels over the Vanderbilt Yard expected to be transferred via foreclosure. That foreclosure was triggered by the failure of current master developer Greenland USA to pay off some $286 million in loans from immigrant investors under the federal EB-5 investor visa program. "Community Engagement" The agenda also i

Who Controls the Arena Plaza? New York State's Explanation Left Something Out ( link ) Complex transactions involving the (unbuilt) flagship tower and the Barclays Center operator were envisioned. Shouldn't BSE Global pay to gain a permanent plaza?

Weekly Digest: a Dog Run Dispute, a New Affordable Housing Graphic ( link ) A highly controlled online meeting fails to ventilate the full dog run dispute; a Barclays Center rep leans into the "Urban Experience."

This is the third of three articles about the Nov. 6, 2024 Atlantic Yards Quality of Life meeting, sponsored by Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project. The first concerned the way the project was framed. The second concerned the dog run and open space. Marissa Shorenstein, Chief External Affairs Officer for BSE Global, which owns the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, and the Barclays Center operating company, was invited to present plans-- previously disclosed at a meeting of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation--for a youth basketball program at the closed Modell's store opposite the arena. At Flatbush & Atlantic, Nov. 7 In other words, her presentation was more a commercial than a chance to answer questions, which she did at the end, with little detail or dialogue. Had it been an in-person meeting, attendees might have been able to ask follow-up questions that comported with their experience, such as seeing il

Ok, the pattern is indeed curious. After years in which the (purportedly) advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC) never met its required quarterly meeting schedule, a new meeting scheduled for Nov. 14 would mean three meetings in little more than four months. (Here's my coverage of the Aug. 8 meeting and the Sept. 26 meeting .) What's going on? We won't know until the meeting starts, since the yet-to-be-issued Agenda is likely to be impossibly vague.  But it's a reasonable bet that something is happening with the project, likely involving the pending joint venture, including Hudson Yards developer Related Companies, to take over six tower sites over the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Vanderbilt Yard. Would that mean that AY CDC parent Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project, has negotiated the contours of a deal, perhaps involving supersizing the project, extending the deadline for

This is the second of three articles about the Nov. 6, 2024 Atlantic Yards Quality of Life meeting, sponsored by Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project. The first concerned the way the project was framed.  The  third  concerned a presentation by arena operator BSE Global. So, master developer Greenland USA, though it's  about to lose  six tower development sites to foreclosure, is still in the game, with Design Director Jen Kuang--the partial successor to previous point man Scott Solish, who  left in early 2023 --making a presentation about the project, especially the new open space. Looking east to 595 Dean from larger of two dog runs The most significant discussion, as described below, involved policies regarding the noisy dog runs (one for small dogs, one for large ones), where noise disturbs residents of the west side of the 595 Dean west tower. That said, I learned more outside the meeting from both a project neighbor and a rep