« Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Atlantic Yards Poll | Main | If Yards suit fails, so does America »
November 10, 2006
Ratner jobs fall short
Bruce’s malls haven’t met projections
The Brooklyn Papers
By Ariella Cohen
The number of retail jobs that state officials say will be created by Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-development ignores the reality of his two existing shopping malls directly across the street, where job performance has fallen short, according to Ratner’s own data.
Ratner’s Atlantic Terminal and Atlantic Center malls created a combined 1,680 jobs — a whopping 42 percent, or 1,220 jobs, less than what should have been created according to the state’s standard job-projection formula.
That state formula — one job for every 300 square feet of shopping area — is now being used to create the impression that Ratner’s Atlantic Yards’ proposed 247,000 square feet of retail space would generate 824 jobs.
But if the job-generation history of Atlantic Terminal, which opened in 2004, and Atlantic Center, which opened in 1996, repeats itself, Atlantic Yards will only create 477 jobs — 347 fewer that Ratner that promised in his “Jobs, Housing and Hoops” scheme.
...
The shortfall at Ratner’s malls was mostly blamed on the developer’s failure to attract enough retail tenants.In Atlantic Center mall, one prime location became back-office space for the ESDC. Another became a Department of Motor Vehicles office after the Sports Authority left.
In response to this BP article, Atlantic Yards Report adds:
Not all the space at the malls is filled, and two government agencies--the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Empire State Development Corporation--occupy space at Atlantic Center initially designated for retail, but isn't open on evenings and weekends.
Should it get built, Atlantic Yards retail might benefit from better design and thus come closer to fulfilling predictions. Still, the track record is an argument for a closer look and continued caveats.
Posted by lumi at November 10, 2006 8:23 AM