Developer Robert Levine of RAL Development Services said the stalled Pier 6 development at Brooklyn Bridge Park is at a “critical juncture” and financing for the project may be in peril if the state doesn’t greenlight it soon.
RAL and its partner, Oliver’s Realty Group, plan to build two residential buildings at Pier 6, one with 92 market-rate condominiums at a 29-story building, and, next door, a 14-story mixed-use rental building with 30 market-rate units and 117 affordable units.
The developers were tapped for the project in June 2015 and paid $106 million to acquire a long-term ground lease for the two parcels, The Real Deal reported.
But the project still needs the state’s go-ahead and Levine sent a two-page letter to city and state officials last week to urge approval, Politico reported.
“Our financial partners have informed me that unless substantial progress in approving changes to Brooklyn Bridge Park’s General Project Plan (GPP) is achieved by April 30, 2016, financing for the project will be jeopardized,” Levine wrote in the letter, which Politico obtained. “I’m writing to enlist your support in moving the project forward toward construction.”
The developers faced community opposition to their original proposal. They agreed to shorten building heights by about 30 feet to be awarded the project by the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, the nonprofit that operates the park. [Politico] — Dusica Sue Malesevic