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June 25, 2009
Goldstein Outbids Ratner, In Vain
The Local [Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill]
by Andy Newman
Shortly before it voted today to let Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner defer the payments on his $100 million purchase of the development rights to the Vanderbilt rail yard, the MTA heard from, and snubbed, a rival developer who offered $20 million more for the parcel and promised to build a project entailing less risk, more affordable housing, a more sensible streetscape and no use of eminent domain.
The developer was Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, Atlantic Yards’ loudest opponent. The project their spokesman, Daniel Goldstein, pitched to the board was the Unity Plan, an alternative vision that DDDB a team of planners and architects proposed in 2007. Mr. Goldstein conveyed to the MTA board today DDDB’s “firm offer” to pay $120 million for the development rights over the Vanderbilt Yard.
The board listened to Mr. Goldstein for a while, then told him his time was up. An MTA spokesman reached by phone this afternoon said only, “We have no comment.”
Mr. Goldstein insisted that the offer was serious.
“The fact that they’ve ignored this offer and dismissed it out of hand shows that THEY are not serious about getting the best financial return for their properties,” he said of the MTA.
Mr. Goldstein said that DDDB has already secured $5 million in financing for its alternative proposal. As for where the rest of the money would come from, Mr. Goldstein said DDDB’s plan was at least as likely to get financing as Forest City Ratner’s, given the developer’s current bleak fiscal situation.
Here’s how it would work, Mr. Goldstein said:
We negotiate an up-front payment with the MTA. We get financing for it from banks, not-for-profit and for profit developers and the community and private individuals. We are certain we could match the 20 up front, though we wouldn’t need to because the delayed payments would be bigger and faster.
We then create a Trust that controls the rail yard rights, and oversees the financing to pay the MTA for the rights, pay them the construction costs of the new yard and oversees the build out.
The Trust divides the Yards into multiple parcels and puts them out to bid. The competitive bidding process would bring in at least $120 million NPV and it would do so over approximately 12 years of build out. Though most would be front ended when the land deals close.
Posted by eric at June 25, 2009 12:10 AM