« It came from the Blogosphere... | Main | Atlantic Yards project faces roadblock from New York State Court of Appeals »
June 30, 2009
State’s Top Court Will Hear Appeal Against Atlantic Yards
The New York Times
by Charles V. Bagli
New York’s highest court has agreed to hear a case challenging the state’s use of eminent domain on behalf of the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn.
The decision by the top court, the Court of Appeals, to hear arguments in October came as something of a surprise to the project’s developer, Bruce C. Ratner, who had expected a clear path after a lower court rejected the case in a unanimous decision in May.
And not a pleasant surprise, for sure. We wish we could've been there when Bruce got the news.
The Court of Appeals’ involvement, announced on Monday, is the latest hurdle to Mr. Ratner’s plans to build a $772 million basketball arena, the centerpiece of the project. The developer and his bankers intend to sell about $650 million in bonds for the arena in late September.
That $650 million figure is up some 10% from estimates just last week. One wonders, why the increase?
Mr. Ratner must finance the project and begin construction by Dec. 31 to qualify for tax-exempt status, which would save him millions of dollars in borrowing costs. Most analysts say it is unlikely that conventional bonds would sell in the current market.
“I certainly don’t envy anyone who has to raise capital in the current environment,” said Robert White of Real Capital Analytics, a research firm.
Posted by eric at June 30, 2009 11:35 PM