One Brooklyn Bridge Sign of New York City Real Estate Woes
One Brooklyn Bridge, the condo development that has magnificent Manhattan views is facing a rough time. The 550 million dollar project has been hit square on by the slowdown in New York City real estate.
Where a year ago there was a huge demand problem and developers could name their price, the combination of Wall Street troubles and a lessening of demand has caused the housing market to slow dramatically.
One Brooklyn Bridge has more than 2/3 of their inventory unsold and it is putting the developer in a bind. What makes matters worse is the largest investor, AIG, is being broken up by the Federal government and will be liquidating it’s investment. So the loan to the developers is going to be sold dirt cheap.
It looks like New York will now be experiencing what most of America has been going through.
The 14-story condominium complex shattered the borough’s price ceiling when real estate entrepreneur Elizabeth Stribling agreed in March to pay $6.05 million to live there. Now, two- thirds of the 449 units in the 1.2-million-square-foot building remain unsold, testament to the financial excesses brewed up across the East River in the Wall Street canyons framed by One Brooklyn’s floor-to-ceiling windows.
“We were killed,” said Robert Levine, chief executive officer of RAL Companies & Affiliates LLC, who masterminded the $550 million waterfront project with views of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty, along with amenities such as virtual golf, a movie theater and a planned 85-acre park. “We have negotiated and done some contracts, but people are clearly much more aware of the current economy.” via Bloomberg.com



Comment by Virginia Realtor on 4 November 2008:
This is a phenomenon that has been rearing it’s ugly head all over the country. In my very own city there is a high rise condominium building that sits half finished due to the economy. I hope some solutions are arrived at soon!