Starrett City Down to One Bid; Asking Price is $600M to $700M

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York, N.Y.–Bids for sale of the 5,881-unit Starrett City, the country’s largest federally subsidized public housing project located in Brooklyn, New York, have now narrowed down to one.The owners of the 46-building project, which spans over 153 acres in Jamaica Bay, Brooklyn, are now negotiating with a group that includes the Christian Cultural Center, the Cogsville Group, the Clarett Group and the nonprofit Housing Partnership Development Corp.At one point, the asking price for Starrett City was said to be $1.3 billion. Now, the Christian Cultural Center is working on a deal to buy the property for $600 million to 700 million and the lower price tag will help keep Starett affordable.Starrett City, which sits between East New York and Canarsie, has its own shopping center, post office, power plant, synagogue and churches.Last year, city, state and federal officials, along with tenant groups, blocked the owners’ attempt to sell Starrett City for $1.3 billion to a real estate investor, David Bistricer. Officials and tenant groups argued that a high price tag for the complex would force the new owner to remove existing residents in favor of higher-paying tenants to make a profit.