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May 27, 2009
Atlantic Yards Nets Arena Will Be Less Gehry, More Cheap
Gothamist
by John Del Signore
As embattled developer Bruce Ratner—who just won't let go of his $4.2 billion dream to build a Nets basketball arena, office towers and thousands of apartments in Prospect Heights— continues to stagger around like a zombie who refuses to believe he's dead, the project's celebrated architect Frank Gehry is becoming increasingly uninvolved.
Last November, Gehry quietly dismissed two dozen staffers working on revised designs, and in March he told a reporter he doubts the project is "going to happen." Ratner is still determined to break ground on the $800 million arena as early as September, but it seems likely that Gehry will eventually have his name removed from Atlantic Yards; the Daily News reports that Ratner has hired Kansas City architecture firm Ellerbe Becket to essentially redo Gehry's design to cut costs.
NoLandGrab: Is it just us, or does "Ellerbe Becket" sound like the latest chapter in Bruce Ratner's series of unfortunate events?
DDDB.net, The Frank Gehry Clock is Ticking, According to Forest City Ratner
The Gehry clock is ticking, according to Forest City Ratner, and it is at the eleventh hour.
Brownstoner, Gehry Finito as Lead Designer for AY Arena?
Posted by eric at May 27, 2009 11:47 PM