Forest City to sell bulk of its Pacific Park stake to Greenland

From left: Greenland’s Hu Gang, Forest City’s David LaRue and Atlantic Yards railyard and the Barclays Center (credit: Getty Images)

In yet another move to limit its exposure to the Pacific Park megaproject, Forest City New York is reducing its stake to 5 percent.

The developer plans to sell the bulk of its stake to its joint venture partner on the project, Greenland USA, a subsidiary of Chinese giant Greenland Group, according to the New York Post. Greenland’s stake in the 22-acre project will be 95 percent, and Forest City will only own the modular apartment building at 461 Dean Street outright.

The deal comes as Forest City retreats from ground-up development, and amid news that MaryAnne Gilmartin, the CEO of its New York arm, may be departing to form a new company with L&L Holding’s Robert Lapidus and David Levinson.

The Post notes that Greenland’s increased involvement in the project will likely mean the infusion of badly needed capital. Only four of the 15 planned buildings are complete with an encroaching 2025 deadline to complete 2,250 affordable housing units. In October, 2016, Forest City stopped all work at the development until further notice, citing a $307.6 million accounting loss on the project. [NYP] — Kathryn Brenzel