Grand Ave Scales Back Amid Recession

Frustrated by stalled progress on developer Related Co's part, Councilwoman Jan Perry of District 9 has called for a smaller project sooner. Unable to secure full financing for the Gehry-designed megaproject, New York City's Related Co. has pushed the entire $3b development to the back burner. The project, intended to be completed in phases, has shown almost no progress since its conception in 2000 and the large lot across from Disney Hall remains empty. The project was scheduled for groundbreaking in 2007.

The Grand Avenue Authority, the committee organized to oversee the project's development, is composed of city, county, and redevelopment agency stakeholders, as the project contains a large public portion. Related's West Coast president Bill Witte defends that the Civic Park portion of the project that would link Grand Ave to City Hall is expected to break ground as early as next summer. It is this portion of the project that has drawn the most frustration from local government, as the land and monetary concessions made by the public sector have yet to see any fruition.

As for the 2.5 million sf condo-hotel-retail aspect? Related is still waiting on a $700m construction loan that, considering the sickness of the condo market, will be a long time coming. Also of concern is the state of Istithmar, the royal Dubai investment fund that has put $100m into the project, and was recently found to be drowning in $26b of debt. But as Witte has tenuously assured, the Dubai money has been "pretty much spent." Meanwhile, the pressure is on to see if Related can make good on its promise to deliver at least a portion of the project before its entitlements expire in 2011.