Here's the key sentence: “Developers who a year ago would have gleefully bid any price for a building or a project are now delaying or abandoning projects in New York and elsewhere as the economy has slowed and many lenders have balked at financing real estate projects in the wake of the credit crisis.” As we said here in April 2001, New York City is a “lighting rod for social mood.” The 180-degree swing in the Big Apple’s real estate market confirms the new south-bound trajectory of social mood.
The article also notes that “the sudden setback in the development of the railyards is a very public embarrassment for everyone involved, including the developer, whose reputation may be at risk; the authority, which was counting on the money for its capital budget; and the Bloomberg administration, which had made the transformation of the once-industrial West Side a centerpiece of its two-term mayoralty.” Another failed bidder for the cite said “It would be a real tragedy for the city if the project did not proceed. The M.T.A. must find a way to keep the momentum going.” But the momentum actually stalled months ago as plans for the expansion of the nearby Javits Convention Center had collapsed and a “key element” of the West Side development, the extension of the No. 7 subway line was never resolved.
In fact, one assemblyman, Richard Brodsky claims, “Every single West Side project is in various state of collapse.” Actually, this is just the end of what might have been if the long uptrend remained. The real fun begins when the existing real estate and infrastructure starts to break down. At the rate of the dream-state is crashing, it probably won’t be long. |
