The Real Deal New York

From the January issue: Three years ago, an up-and-coming real estate firm called Extell Development Company was denied the right to develop the controversial Atlantic Yards site, despite outbidding rival Forest City Ratner by $100 million. Now, the world has completely changed for both companies, with fortunes rising for one and falling for the other. The credit crisis has halted the $6 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn for Forest City Ratner, while Extell has emerged as the most active developer in the rehabilitation of Manhattan’s West Side. If Extell’s chief executive Gary Barnett is accurate, when the market finally reaches bottom in the near future, he might emerge as one of the last men standing in New York City real estate. “In most of our completed projects, we don’t owe the banks a dollar,” said Barnett. “We are not under pressure to sell, and have a lot more flexibility to [ride out] today’s market.”