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March 26, 2008
Economy Could Stall Atlantic Yards Project
GlobeSt.com reporter Natalie Dolce follows up on "recent published reports" that developer Forest City Ratner is only moving ahead on plans for the Atlantic Yards arena — and that its costs have skyrocketed:
Ratner says in a prepared statement that the company "remains committed to Atlantic Yards in its entirety and our investment in Brooklyn and the city is a long-term one."
Goldstein believes that due to the increase in the cost of the arena, the project may have to go back for review and a vote by the Public Authorities Control Board. The PACB is comprised of Gov. David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, and requires a unanimous vote.
When the project was unveiled in 2003, [the arena] was projected to cost around $400 million. In mid-2005 it that cost rose to $435 million. It was approved at the end of 2006 at $637.2 million. And now, according to the developer in the published reports, the arena would be much costlier at $950 million.
"Besides facing a new review by the PACB, Forest City Ratner does not own the land it needs to build the arena," according to DDDB attorney Jeffrey Baker. A FCRC spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com simply that the company "expects to open the arena in 2010."
DDDB legal director Candace Carponter says that the expected fall groundbreaking for the arena is not possible based on the new review required by the PACB, the eminent domain lawsuit, the environmental lawsuit, and the economic environment. "It's pure fantasy."
Posted by lumi at March 26, 2008 5:28 AM