JV Restructures Partnership for Brooklyn Redevelopment

By IvyLee Rosario

550 Vanderbilt, Pacific Park Brooklyn

Greenland USA and Forest City Realty Trust Inc. have reached an agreement on the companies’ joint venture, Greenland Forest City Partners, which is developing Pacific Park Brooklyn, a new mixed-use project in Brooklyn, N.Y. The agreement extends Greenland’s ownership interest from 70 to 95 percent and Forest City’s interest from 30 to 5 percent. 

“We saw in Pacific Park Brooklyn the opportunity to implement our vision of creating a better, more accessible lifestyle and drive continued innovation in the United States. Now, through the jobs and the community benefit we have created, and the great relationships we’ve established with the city and state, we are delivering on that vision,” said Zhang Yuliang, president & chairman of Greenland Group.

Pacific Park Brooklyn

The redevelopment of 22 acres in downtown Brooklyn, Pacific Park will feature 15 buildings, access to nearby restaurants, bars, cafe and bakeries, an eight-acre park, a new school, state-of-the-art healthcare facility, grocery stores, the Barclays Center and six residential towers, all within close proximity to 12 different subway lines. Four of the towers have already been completed, providing nearly 800 units of affordable housing. Upon completion, the development will offer a total of 6,430 units, with 2,250 of those being set aside as affordable. Additional features include office space, neighboring retail and community facilities. 

Infrastructure improvements such as a new subway entrance to the Atlantic Terminal Transit Hub and a new storage and maintenance facility for the LIRR will also take place. Greenland USA will have primary responsibility for the remaining development work of the project. The joint venture have so far completed three structures in the development: 38 Sixth Ave., 535 Carlton and 550 Vanderbilt. Design work for the next building in Pacific Park, B4, will begin early this year and is scheduled to break ground in 2019. 

“We are excited to continue working with Forest City and are proud of the tremendous progress we’ve made together in bringing affordable housing and residential space to the market quickly,” added Yuliang. “In 2018, we remain dedicated to delivering these contributions to New York’s vibrant and diverse communities. Pacific Park Brooklyn brings opportunities to the whole community, and I look forward to its progress and success.”

Brooklyn has been booming with development activity, especially when it comes to the addition of more affordable housing. In December, Jonathan Rose Cos. launched Caesura, a market rate, middle income, micro and affordable housing community located in Brooklyn’s Cultural District.

Image courtesy of Greenland Forest City Partners