The real estate boom was declared dead back on the first of October, and the Times continued the autopsy report over the weekend with a story on the frozen state of development and construction. The statement that New York's landscape will be "virtually unchanged for two years" will be greeted with curses by some and relief by others, and Charles Blaichman falls into the former category. Blaichman—who built Soho House and is currently developing the High Line Building (he's also responsible for that god-awful SVA dorm on Delancey Street, ick)—has seen financing vanish for his buzzy hotel projects, including the controversial Perry Street Hotel in the West Village and the J Hotel in West Chelsea, a partnership with Jay-Z. In fact, Blaichman is trying to rent out the former Time Warner Cable warehouse (right) that was to be razed for the J Hotel. Other developers are feeling the pinch too, of course. In fact, even the once-mighty Shaya Boymelgreen is having trouble raising cash:
Shaya Boymelgreen had banks “pull back” recently on financing for a 107-unit rental tower the developer is building at 500 West 23rd Street, according to Sara Mirski, managing director of development for Boymelgreen Developers. The half-finished project looked abandoned on two recent visits, but Ms. Mirski said that construction will continue. Banks have “invited” the developer to reapply for a loan next year and have offered interim bridge loans for up to $30 million.
And though construction continues on projects that managed to lock in financing before the bust, a researcher with the Urban Land Institute has this advice for real estate execs: "We told them to take up golf." And maybe architects should learn how to caddy?
· Downturn Ends Building Boom in New York [NYT]For more stories from Curbed, go to curbed.com.
