Atlantic Yards Hasn’t Applied
For Bonds, Units Would
Cost Four Times As Much
By Sarah Ryley
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner Companies has not applied for affordable housing bonds, and when the company does, it will not be prioritized over other developers, said a city official. As earlier reported in the Eagle, the state has more than $6 billion for affordable housing projects in its 2008 pipeline, with $960 million for projects located within the city, but only $1.6 billion in bonds to dole out.
According to Ratner’s financial projections, the company will be requesting $1.4 billion in housing bonds over a five-year period for 2,250 apartments. Tenants could earn up to 160 percent of the area’s median income for some of the units.
Neill Coleman, spokesman for the city Housing Development Corporation (HDC), said there are no bonds earmarked specifically for Atlantic Yards. “When we do [receive their application], their application will be judged on the same standards as other applicants.”
Applicants are considered in part based on the number of affordable units in the project.
Coleman said last year HDC issued $659 million in bonds to finance the construction or preservation of 4,786 apartments for low, middle and moderate-income city residents, an average of $137,000 per unit.
According to Ratner’s financial projections, in 2008 the company plans to request $177 million in bonds for 359 below market-rate apartments in two towers, and the following year $344 million in bonds for 680 below market-rate apartments in three towers, an average of $501,000 per unit. Overall, $1.4 billion in bonds for 2,250 units averages $622,000 per unit.
Lawsuits have delayed the project — financial projections said construction on the first tower would begin last year. Ratner executive Andrew Silberfein filed an affidavit last month saying lawsuits could jeopardize the $637 million in bond financing needed to construct the basketball arena.
Spokesmen for Ratner and project sponsor Empire State Development Corporation declined to comment on why Atlantic Yards’ affordable units require roughly four times the funding as the city’s 2007 average.
Ron Shiffman, professor at the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment at the Pratt Institute and a former planning commissioner, said it would be “political suicide” for HDC to approve such costly apartments while rejecting others who could build more bang for the buck. “It becomes a real untenable argument for [HDC] to give [Ratner] priority over any other project,” said Shiffman, who opposes Atlantic Yards.
Last week, HDC president Marc Jahr told the New York Post, “Given the scale of the project … we’re not concerned that the money won’t be there.” The short article offered no further explanation, fueling suspicions that the developer would be given special treatment.
Coleman said only, “I can’t predict how they will seek to structure the bonding (i.e. number of buildings, timetable) as we don’t have an application from them.”
Shiffman speculated that Jahr meant that, because the project’s construction spans several years, Ratner won’t be asking for all the money at once, making the project easier to finance. “I can’t see how they could make a rational argument for jumping them and giving them priority,” he said. “In the end, that would mean fewer affordable units,” possibly leading to federal penalties.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
All materials posted on BrooklynEagle.com are protected by United States copyright law.
Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues.
So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net
Main Office 718 422 7400
