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February 28, 2008
Goodbye Mr. Brooklyn
Apparently Bruce Ratner's deal with CityTech to erect the largest tower in Brooklyn, to be designed by Times Tower architect Renzo Piano, is dead. Dubbed "Mr. Brooklyn," as a snarky reference to the inanely named Atlantic Yards signature tower, "Miss Brooklyn," the CityTech project appears to have succumbed to market conditions.
Here are the headlines:
The Brooklyn Paper, Ratner Kills Mr. Brooklyn
Developer Bruce Ratner has pulled out of a deal with City Tech that could have net him hundreds of millions of dollars and allowed him to build the city’s tallest residential tower, the so-called Mr. Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Paper has learned.
“It was a mutual decision,” said a key executive at the City University of New York, which would have paid Ratner $300 million to build a new dorm and lab for City Tech and given him a prime plot at the corner of Tillary and Jay streets where he reportedly hoped to build the 100-story, Renzo Piano-designed building.
“Both sides agreed that the costs had escalated and the numbers showed that we should not go down that road,” added the executive, who did not wish to be identified.
NY Daily News, Ratner tower whittled down
The Jay St. building was also dealt a second blow: World-renowned architect Renzo Piano has bowed out of the ambitious project, a source told the Daily News.
...
The tech tower had been expected to be 700 to 1,000 feet tall and to house classrooms, labs and offices on lower floors and condos on upper floors.It will now be solely a CUNY facility, possibly as modest as 10 stories, a source said.
It was unclear whether retail would be included in the new plans or who would now design the building.
Construction costs - including labor, materials and insurance - had also been an issue, skyrocketing by more than $50 million over original estimates, according to CUNY memos obtained by The News.
Under the original plan, the building would not have been completed until 2011. Under new plans, however, it could open as early as 2010, according to the memos.
"In summary, proceeding on this project without FCRC's involvement would allow CUNY to build the project more efficiently and, therefore, less expensively," according to the memo, written by CUNY Vice President Iris Weinshall.
UPDATE, 02/29/08: The online version of this article ran with the above headline, while the story ran today with the following, "Bruce Ratner's City Tech Tower shrinks." Both headlines imply that Bruce Ratner is still involved with the project, though the article states otherwise — more proof that headline writers don't really have to read the article to do their job.
Crain's NY Business, Ratner shrinks (again)
A second Bruce Ratner development is hitting the skids
Atlantic Yards mega-developer Bruce Ratner dropped out of plans to construct a Renzo Piano-designed City Tech tower in downtown Brooklyn, the Real Deal reported Thursday. The residential tower was to be 1,000 feet tall, and would have housed dorms and a laboratory for CUNY, which said the decision to axe the project was mutual. Forest City Ratner might be up against financial realities of the ongoing credit crunch, or perhaps the site’s location, now pegged for a more demure 10-story building, wasn’t ready for Brooklyn’s tallest skyscraper. Some silver lining: the building, which will still include dorms and a lab, might now be complete by 2010, a full year early.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, City Tech Tower is Not to Be
According to the joint statement, “It has been determined that the timing, increased costs and other complexities associated with developing such a mixed-use project could not be reconciled with the college’s immediate need to move forward with a first class academic space to serve its growing student enrollment.”
Ending the partnership was amicable, the statement said.
Brownstoner, Soaring City Tech Tower Cut Down to Size
Whatever the logic is behind the decision, it seems like a pretty big blow to the ongoing plans to change the face of Downtown Brooklyn.
The Gowanus Lounge, Piano Finito: Big Ratner Tower is Dead
Posted by lumi at February 28, 2008 8:07 PM