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November 19, 2007
Lessons not-so-new from the Newark arena: cost overruns, plan changes, and yet-unmet promises
Atlantic Yards Report
AYR takes a comprehensive look at what was promised in Newark, what's been delivered (so far), and what it means for Brooklyn.
The larger story of the Prudential Center, however, may have some sobering if unsurprising lessons for Brooklynites. The arena cost the city more than expected, so far contains fewer neighborhood-friendly features than originally promised, and has yet to be accompanied by the development it was expected to catalyze.
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The city has money for streetscape improvements and loans to small businesses, and expects "one small development — a restaurant and six apartments" open near the arena next year.
Newark, clearly, has taken a risk, but it also has had to make significant investments to transform a moribund downtown that for decades has mostly closed by nightfall.
Did Brooklyn need one arena mega-project to catalyze a revival? Could a rezoning have spurred development over the Vanderbilt Yard? And if the arena is built, would the rest of the Atlantic Yards project be built in the announced ten years or would interim surface parking persist?
There's nothing to keep Forest City Ratner from proceeding on a timetable that fits with their needs. In other words, despite the design for four (mostly residential) towers to wrap the arena, it's possible Brooklyn might have an arena bordered by some unfinished buildings and empty lots for quite a while.
Posted by lumi at November 19, 2007 10:23 AM