Low-income housing and a new Bronx hotel may soon rise from the ruins of the Yankee Stadium garage debacle, according to the New York Daily News.
That's because the Yanks' quick exit from postseason has made the outlook even grimmer for Bronx Parking Development LLC, the nearly bankrupt company that owns the 9,000-space garage system.
For the second season in a row, those garages have averaged less than 50% occupancy on game days. Even though Bronx Parking sharply increased prices this year, its garage revenues were so anemic it was forced to withdraw $2.3 million from its dwindling reserves just to meet an Oct. 1 debt service payment, records show.
Another debt service payment of $6.9 million is due in April.
"Things are getting worse each day, and we have no more money coming in until baseball season starts," said one member of the company's board. "We have to do something fast."
Here's the reality: The city's Economic Development Corp., which authorized $237 million in public bonds for the garages back in 2006, is staring at one of the biggest defaults of a New York City bond in decades.
To avoid default, EDC officials have been quietly cobbling together a deal for two of the system's parking lots to be used for affordable housing and retail development.
Under the proposal, recently approved by the parking company's board, Jackson Development and Joy Construction would build 550 units of affordable housing and 45,000 square feet of retail on lots near the existing Gateway Shopping Mall.
The developers would then make annual lease payments to Bronx Parking and, if all approvals go smoothly, groundbreaking could begin by 2013.
"This alternative use will generate additional revenue to pay the debt service on the garage bonds," EDC spokesman David Lombino said.
Even those payments will not be enough to make the garages financially viable, said one official who has reviewed the numbers.
That's why Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz is urging a second solution. Diaz wants one of the garages torn down and replaced with a new 200-room hotel that would generate permanent jobs for the Bronx.
Diaz aides say several major hotel operators have expressed interest informally, and the borough president's economic development agency has set a November deadline for formal proposals.
After allowing the NY Yankees to seize 25.3 acres of public parkland without requiring that it all be replaced, the city under the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (BOEDC) - last month announced it was seeking proposals to develop a hotel and conference center on the site of one of Yankee Stadium's parking garages (Garage 8 - above). A clause at the end of Diaz' call for developers notes that the city's agreement with the team requires it to replace any eliminated parking spaces from the team.
Any hotel proposal will undoubtedly need additional subsidies from taxpayers.
Unfortunately, the Bloomberg administration, as part of its original deal with the Yankees for a new stadium in the Bronx, gave in to the team's ridiculous demand for 9,000 parking spaces.
As a result, a costly garage system, one that was poorly conceived to begin with, is on the verge of financial collapse.
Let's hope they get it right this time.
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Ironic isn't it, the bloomberg administration is anti-car and taxpayer funds are going towards it, by the way, stadium development is a stupid economic policy, sure it brings folks to the area
ReplyDeletebut its just a game folks, really the yanks have been around for a long time, has it alone changed the south bronx, no,private vs. using taxpayer funds is another thing, consider consumption of goods that don't increase economic performance such as sports memoribilla
or alvin's greens joke that he will create a company to make and sell toys for himself.