So now that the Barclays Center is up and running, when can we expect to see some of the other buildings that Forest City Ratner promised along with the Brooklyn Nets? Well, it looks like the first tower could be starting construction sooner than you probably think. Like, December. But don’t expect to see the rest of the actual Atlantic railyards covered up anytime soon.
Atlantic Yards Report stopped by an investors’ meeting yesterday in which Forest City Ratner VP MaryAnne Gilmartin said that the seven towers over the railyards—whose covering up was part of how Ratner pushed his way into the borough in the first place—will not actually be built until seven other towers are constructed first. In addition, Gilmartin reportedly indicated that the first tower to come to the area—which could still be either modular or not—still needs some financing but is due to break ground on December 18th.
So which one is that? That’d be “B2 at Atlantic Yards,” which is expected to hit 32 floors with 363 units (half affordable, half market rate). And what will rents look like? The mid-50s per square foot. Or:
At $54 a square foot, a 450-sf studio would rent for $2,025 a month; a 700 sf 1 BR would rent for $3,150 a month; and a 950 sf 2 BR would rent for $4,275 a month. (The subsidized units would be far less for low-income households, maybe 30% less for middle-income households.)
If the building is built in the conventional manner it will take about 18 months to finish. If it is modular it should “go faster.”
Meanwhile “the first and largest [office] tower, planned to rise on a triangular site over what is now the arena plaza, is on permanent hold.” And as for the platform that was supposed to cover the rest of the yards that weren’t covered by the arena? Looks like they’ll come when Ratner and co. are ready. At least they say that, thanks to other platform projects like the West Side Rail Yards, options get cheaper every day. Now that Forest City Ratner has clearly won, we’d rather they just got this all over with.
