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July 12, 2009

The Lawyer Who Freed Prince

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By Alenka

This profile of attorney L. Londell McMillan has a fuzzy mention of his involvement in the proposed Atlantic Yards development. There's an implication that he's an investor in the project, but it seems more likely that he is an investor only in the New Jersey Nets. Either way, the team will not be playing in Brooklyn in 2009 as the article suggests.

McMillan is his own best advertisement. In addition to his personal real estate investments, he has partnered with Bruce Ratner, a real estate developer whose handiwork-the MetroTech Center in downtown Brooklyn, for example-McMillan has esteemed since boyhood. "I admired his ability to develop big projects and interface in urban areas that many developers were less excited about investing in," says McMillan, who became one of several investors in Ratner's newest project, the Atlantic Yards, a $4.5 billion residential, retail and commercial development that will include co-ownership of the New Jersey Nets. As early as 2009, the team will move to Brooklyn and call the Yards' sports arena its new home. "It feels surreal to be part of a group that has its own team," says the former athlete. "It's gratifying to have equity in something I'd support as a fan."

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NoLandGrab: It would probably be more gratifying to have equity in something that wasn't losing money.

Posted by steve at July 12, 2009 7:54 AM