Weekly Digest: "100% Affordable" Blues, Greenland Finances, & More
With hot water outages and more, 38 Sixth Avenue is not so "successful," despite a state lawyer's words. Yes, the parent of developer Greenland USA is suffering.
This digest offers a way for people to keep up with my Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report blog, as well as my other coverage in this newsletter and elsewhere.
It was a busy week. I offered a second installment—stay tuned for another—on my argument that New York State should not simply give the arena plaza, now sponsored by Ticketmaster, to the Barclays Center operator, Joe Tsai.
I published a new page of selected articles, to help people get up to speed on the project.
Also: a long-gestating article for City Limits, a publication focused on housing and community issues, about tenant complaints at 38 Sixth Ave. (aka B3), a “100% affordable” building that, apparently, had always been troubled, but the situation got worse with the new owner, Avanath Capital Management.
Greenland financials
Also this week: three articles—all scoops, one pretty large—on financial issues regarding developer Greenland USA and its parent Greenland Holding Group, Notably the parent acknowledged a loss of $390 million in project value, a major “impairment.”
Answering a lingering question from 2018, it looks like the ownership "restructuring" in which original developer Forest City Ratner gave up 25% of its remaining 30% stake involved almost no money changing hands.
In fact, Forest City wound up paying Greenland $18.2 million and giving up some $40 million in project value to resolve lingering disputes. So they were not exactly copacetic partners.
Note: none of these were confirmed or denied by Greenland in response to my request for comment, and none prompted follow-up coverage in other media.
From this newsletter
July 21: Getting Up to Speed on Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park. Because my FAQ is way too long, some key articles and concepts.
July 23: Could New York State Leverage that Neon Art (or Advertising?) Installation to Get Tsai to Pay for the Plaza? Empire State Development doesn't have to sign off on an automatic extension after three years, does it?
Yes, it seems automatic, but everything’s political.
From City Limits
July 24: Despite New Owner’s Promised Upgrades, ‘100% Affordable’ Atlantic Yards Building Endures Hot Water Outages, Broken Door, Even Bees.
Also note my brief blog follow-up, noting how this complicates a claim, from a lawyer for Empire State Development, that the buildings “are tenanted and they are, as far as I know, they've all been successful." Also note continuing complaints about roaches.
From Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report
July 22: Will the "You Belong Here"/"We Belong Here" neon art (or marketing?) installation outside Barclays Center be extended past 2024? I wouldn't bet against it. There seems to be an automatic process.
July 25: Greenland Holding's huge loss on Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park: end-of-2023 audit shows firm recognized $390 million impairment (loss of value).
July 26: In the 2018 Pacific Park ownership "restructuring," did Greenland USA pay anything for original developer’s Forest City's 25% share? The answer seems no, except for Modell's site.
July 27: Resolving "land litigation disputes" (re Site 5, catercorner to the arena?), Forest City gave Greenland its shares in B4 tower & future Site 5 (jointly valued at $40.1M) & paid Greenland $18.2M.