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July 1, 2007
The "Delicate Beast" Unravels
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn takes on today's Times article:
There are some errors and oddities in the article that strain credulity. One error is that the huge Frank Gehry ego-trip, aka "Miss Brooklyn," will open in 2009. That is pure fantasy, considering the developer is terribly behind schedule due to lawsuits. One oddity straining credulity is that the article claims Ratner plans on making his money from the office space rather than the lucrative 6,430 residential units. That can't be. If it were the case, why did the developer propose more residential units by reducing the office space to around 360,000 square feet down from the orginal proposal's 2.1 million squre feet? Not to make less money, one would presume.Additionally, since Forest City Ratner has not put up the $4 billion the project is said to cost, but rather likely something significantly less, the 5% developer's fee the article says Ratner will claim becomes a much higher return on investment when one considers, well, Ratner's investment.
Posted by amy at July 1, 2007 12:09 PM