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December 4, 2008
Work Abruptly Halts At Atlantic Yards Site
Gothamist
by John Del Signore
In a striking reversal, developer Bruce Ratner has halted work at a location that is integral to his controversial $4.2 billion plan to build a Nets basketball arena, office towers and thousands of apartments in Brooklyn. Ratner has previously insisted that work would continue despite lawsuits attempting to stop the project, even vowing to break ground on the stadium this month. Now a spokesman for his company, Forest City Ratner, tells the Daily News that "preliminary construction" at the MTA-owned Vanderbilt Rail Yards is being put on hold.
The Daily News also points out that Ratner has yet to actually, you know, purchase the railyard from the MTA, which a spokesman also blames on ongoing litigation. In a statement, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein notes that the $100 million purchase price is well below the yards' $214.5 million appraised value. He contends that the halted work has less to do with litigation and more to do with the project's "dire financial situation."
Posted by eric at December 4, 2008 11:55 AM