CHARLES V. BAGLI writes in the New York Times: “The real estate investment group battling with the developer Bruce Ratner for control of the Atlantic railyard near Downtown Brooklyn offered a compromise yesterday that it said would allow both parties to declare victory: The group would incorporate Mr. Ratner’s plan to build a glass-walled basketball arena for the Nets into its project.”
“The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is scheduled to review the rival bids, and possibly select a winner, at its board meeting tomorrow. The investment group, led by Gary Barnett, president of Extell Development Company, has offered $150 million in cash for development rights at the 8.3-acre site, or three times as much as Mr. Ratner.”
“But Mr. Ratner, who has worked for three years on a $3.5 billion proposal for the arena and 6,000 apartments at the railyard and on adjoining parcels of land, brushed off the proposal. He contends that the transit authority and the public will get far more from his project than the $50 million he bid, including a newly built railyard, affordable housing, transit station improvements and tax revenue from the arena.”
“‘Forest City Ratner has an unmatched record in Brooklyn and throughout the city for developing and completing highly complex projects,’ said Joseph DePlasco, a spokesman for Mr. Ratner and his company, Forest City Ratner. ‘Also, they already have in place a long-term partnership with community groups and community leaders to develop thousands of needed jobs and 2,500 units of affordable housing while generating billions of dollars in revenue for the city and the state.'”
LINK: Development Rival Offers Compromise on Nets Arena [New York Times]
[Thanks to RHODAMINE for the photo of the Atlantic railyards.]