From the October issue: In densely populated New York City, crowded neighborhood schools and a shortage of development sites are two sides of the same coin. So it’s not surprising that an increasing number of private developers are incorporating schools into their projects. And in many cases, they receive direct financial benefits to do so — from tax breaks to permission to construct larger buildings. There are also intangible benefits for developers and for the city, like winning support for projects from community opponents.
In recent years, the city has been looking for funding to build more classrooms, especially in fast-growing residential neighborhoods like the Far West Side and Lower Manhattan, where schools are squeezed for space, explained CBRE Group powerbroker Darcy Stacom. [more]