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December 5, 2007
Special Report: Commercial Property Developers Reveal Market Trends in the Big Apple
Multi-Housing News
By Matthew Marin, Associate Editor
Commercial real-estate industry folks like to tell each other that Atlantic Yards is in "Downtown Brooklyn," because a development of that scale might be appropriate in a place called "downtown" somewhere. Alas, Bruce Ratner's 22-acre megaproject is planned for Prospect Heights, which would bring a 19,000-seat arena to some residents' front doors.
Dubbed a "cool market," by Beninati, Brooklyn has attracted the attention of numerous high-profile celebrities. Before their split, actors Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams, who met while filming "Brokeback Mountain," lived in Boerum Hill. Married actors Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly, who worked on "A Beautiful Mind," currently reside in the area. And, Adrian Grenier, star of the hit TV show "Entourage" recently moved into a three-floor townhouse in Clinton Hill.
Downtown Brooklyn, in particular, will become home to Forest City Ratner Co.'s more than $3-billion Atlantic Yards, considered the region's most ambitious--and controversial--master-planned development project. It is scheduled to become the new home for the Nets basketball team and several mixed-use buildings.
The Atlantic Yards development intends to add 6,430 units of mixed-income housing; 1,930 will be market-rate condos, and 4,500 will be rental units. Fifty percent of the rentals will be set aside for middle- and low-income families. Additionally, at least 200 ownership units on-site will be dedicated for ownership by low-, moderate- and middle-income individuals and families.
NoLandGrab: We're not sure if Forest City Ratner has actually guaranteed that the 200 units would be on-site. It's possible that they could be built on another site, even in another neighborhood.
Posted by lumi at December 5, 2007 5:05 AM