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July 14, 2009
ESDC says it hopes to sell $650 million (not $531 million) in arena bonds even while Atlantic Yards appeal is pending
Atlantic Yards Report
So, the projected amount of tax-exempt arena bonds would be larger than initially announced, indicating more savings for developer Forest City Ratner.
A New York Times article on July 1 stated:
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 number was surprising, because, at the June 23 meeting of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) board, a memo stated that tax-exempt arena financing was $531.1 million.
The explanation
"The sizing of the tax-exempt and taxable financings is still in flux," ESDC spokesman Warner Johnston responded. "The $531 [million] number in our Board materials was a net number--exclusive of cost of issuance, capitalized interest, debt service reserve and bond insurance. In particular, the latter three are very big numbers. $650 [million] is a good ball park number for the tax exempt bond financing. The taxable piece will be relatively small (maybe $30-$50 million)."
Posted by eric at July 14, 2009 4:59 AM