Talk about Brooklyn Bridge Park and most people love the park itself. The issue has always been the plan to finance the park with high-rise condos and a hotel. Park, meet real estate bust. Real estate bust, meet park. Result of play: about 800 canceled condos, no hotel and no immediate plans to renovate the crumbling Empire Stores in Dumbo. Plans for 780 new apartments and a 225-room hotel have been "postponed indefinitely" in the words of the Post. Actually, the Brooklyn Paper reported the indefinite delay of the hotel on January 15. On Monday the paper quoted a spokesperson for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp. as saying, "“Due to the present current economic climate, we don’t have a schedule for either of these development sites," meaning the hotel and condos. The only condos built are the 447 at One Brooklyn Bridge Park and only about a third of them have sold so far. This does present a problem, however. The project is expect to cost about $350 million about $200 million more than the original price tag announced in 2002, but that was before maintenance costs ballooned and other spending skyrocketed. It remains to be seen how this all plays out financially and whether huge parts of the park will remain unbuilt. There's already a $75 million gap in funding. Annual maintenance, which was estimated at $15.2 million a year, was supposed to be paid for by the condos and htoel. The first segment is supposed to open late this year. No truth to the rumor the state is talking to Sam Chang about opening a Motel Six with a playground and a huge tour bus parking lot.
· Brooklyn Bridge Park Condo Plan is $inking [NYP]
· Bridge park 'housing' now also on hold [BP]
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