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Kingsbridge Armory developer may court overseas investors
Project chairman on EB-5 program: “That is definitely something we’re considering”
The developer of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, which would turn the armory into one of the world’s largest indoor skating centers, may use the federal EB-5 program to pool funds from wealthy international lenders in exchange for putting them on a path to U.S. citizenship.
The program provides developers with cheap capital, placing a relatively low interest rate on the funds, then in exchange grants lenders EB-5 visas. The program has proved particularly popular in China in recent years, where a growing upper-class increasingly looks to maneuver in the U.S. market, Crain’s reported.
“There’s a lot of interest in lending to quality projects,” Kevin Parker, founder and chairman of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, which is managing the conversion project, told Crain’s. “But this is a project that is in a geographical area that qualifies for EB-5 and that is definitely something we’re considering.” Parker added that he hopes to arrange financing by the end of the year.
Other projects turning to the EB-5 program lately include BFC Partners’ $230 million outlet mall in Staten Island’s St. George and the Related Companies’ plan to cover part of its $750 million tab at Hudson Yards with the program. [Crain’s] — Julie Strickland