Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Images from meeting presentation This is the first of two articles on the 5/11/21 Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Quality of Life meeting. The online meeting via Zoom last night was brief, less than 30 minutes, and drew a maximum of 21 people, according to organizers, though as per typical, attendees could not see questions and chat posted by others. There was no big news, or even answers to some of the big questions posed before the meeting, such as plans for the two-block platform over the Vanderbilt Yards, crucial to the construction of two sets of three towers. Scott Solish of master developer Greenland USA shared a slide showing the arena block, with the facade of the B4 tower, 18 Sixth Avenue, fully installed. Work on the interior of the building continues, with an opening expected in the fourth quarter of this year. He had no information on the planned affordable housing--30% of the next four buildings--despite previous evidence that it would be geared to middle-income households....

A 2/22/21 press release,  CBRE Group, Inc. Acquires 35 Percent Interest in Industrious, Leading Provider of Flexible Space Solutions , adding that the "world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm," which is headquartered in Dallas, is expecting to acquire another 5% in the coming weeks. The deal includes $200 million in cash and the transfer of CBRE's own "flexible-space solutions offering, Hana," which has ten locations in the U.S. and UK. The Commercial Observer quoted Industrious CEO Jamie Hodari: "Almost every Fortune 500 [company] is putting in workplace plans that explicitly say they’re going to massively increase their use of flex." "Industrious has more than 100 locations in more than 50 U.S. cities and specializes in asset-lite flexible workplace operating models," according to the press release, which added: The investment significantly increases CBRE’s participation in the flexible workplace sector and posi...

As first reported 5/28/19 by the Commercial Observer,  Pacific Park Resi Tower Nabs $73M Financing from M&T , and then The Real Deal,  TF Cornerstone lands financing for Pacific Park dev sites , the development company that has bought the leases to the B12 and B13 sites has some momentum. Those sites, known as 615 Dean and 595 Dean, are on the southeast block of the site, Block 1129, between the already-constructed condo building 550 Vanderbilt and the already-constructed rental 535 Carlton. TF Cornerstone, which paid Greenland Forest City Partners about $143 million for the leases, got a $73 million loan from M&T for the sites, which are to be developed into rental with with either 25% or 30% affordable housing, depending on which element of the 421-a program is chosen. The total should be about 800 units. Before changes in the 421-a program were announced, 615 Dean was announced in September 2015 as a condo building, but that plan did not go forward. This s...

I'm just reading the tea leaves here, but a look at New York State's database of corporations suggests that plans for 615 Dean Street, aka B12, are further ahead than plans for 664 Pacific Street, aka B15, though both buildings have been announced--with renderings --and then delayed. B12 is supposed to be a condo building, while B15 would contain market-rate rentals, plus a school. Both have 421-a benefits grandfathered in, but the developer could reconfigure the building to use the revised benefits. The evidence is below. A search on "Pacific Park" turned up four limited liability corporations (LLCs) associated with specific parcels, including the now-constructed 550 Vanderbilt and 535 Carlton, and the under-construction 38 Sixth Avenue. The only other construction site with an LLC is 615 Dean. (Note that 461 Dean, aka B2, was built not by the joint venture behind Pacific Park, Greenland Forest City Partners, but by Forest City itself.)