A tentative agreement has been reached that will save 2,400 condominium owners in 11 buildings at Battery Park City $279 million over the next 30 years, according to an article today at crainsnewyork.com by Amanda Fung.
A six-person negotiating committee led by Assemblyman Sheldon Silver met with the Battery Park City Homeowners Coalition last night, the article said, to present its plan to prevent a major spike in the monthly ground rents that condo owners in these buildings would have to pay.
Ground rents paid collectively by owners in the 11 buildings were expected to soar 63% from this year's level to $14.7 million in 2012, the article said, adding that "under the agreement, rent will now increase by 33% next year" and that "over the next 30 years, the condo owners would pay $525 million in ground-rent payments, rather than $804 million."
The article said that in a statement Mr. Silver said that "this agreement would protect Battery Park City residents from staggering increases that would have caused crushing financial burdens during a time of economic difficulty."
"By restructuring this payment plan," his statement continued, "we will be able to keep more middle-class families in their homes and maintain Battery Park City as the world-class community that it is. It will also give lenders the confidence to continue providing financing to families relocating to this community."
The condo boards of the 11 buildings have been urged to vote on the agreement in the next 30 days, the article said, adding that the Battery Park City Authority, a public agency set up by the New York state government to develop and manage the 92-acre area, has indicated it will support the agreement, according to Mr. Silver's office.
Ground leases were established in the mid-1980s by developers and the Battery Park City Authority, the article noted, adding that "the neighborhood, which was created from landfill from the construction of the World Trade Center towers, is one of the few neighborhoods in Manhattan where residents have to pay rent for the land their building stands on. Each ground lease has its own provisions, and each building's annual rents vary, ranging from as little as $100,000 to $2 million a year. The ground rents at some buildings were scheduled to soar by more than 100% over the next few years."
A six-person negotiating committee led by Assemblyman Sheldon Silver met with the Battery Park City Homeowners Coalition last night, the article said, to present its plan to prevent a major spike in the monthly ground rents that condo owners in these buildings would have to pay.
Ground rents paid collectively by owners in the 11 buildings were expected to soar 63% from this year's level to $14.7 million in 2012, the article said, adding that "under the agreement, rent will now increase by 33% next year" and that "over the next 30 years, the condo owners would pay $525 million in ground-rent payments, rather than $804 million."
The article said that in a statement Mr. Silver said that "this agreement would protect Battery Park City residents from staggering increases that would have caused crushing financial burdens during a time of economic difficulty."
"By restructuring this payment plan," his statement continued, "we will be able to keep more middle-class families in their homes and maintain Battery Park City as the world-class community that it is. It will also give lenders the confidence to continue providing financing to families relocating to this community."
The condo boards of the 11 buildings have been urged to vote on the agreement in the next 30 days, the article said, adding that the Battery Park City Authority, a public agency set up by the New York state government to develop and manage the 92-acre area, has indicated it will support the agreement, according to Mr. Silver's office.
Ground leases were established in the mid-1980s by developers and the Battery Park City Authority, the article noted, adding that "the neighborhood, which was created from landfill from the construction of the World Trade Center towers, is one of the few neighborhoods in Manhattan where residents have to pay rent for the land their building stands on. Each ground lease has its own provisions, and each building's annual rents vary, ranging from as little as $100,000 to $2 million a year. The ground rents at some buildings were scheduled to soar by more than 100% over the next few years."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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