"While many in the audience have been following the progress of the development for years,
Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report‘s Norman Oder, a longtime chronicler of the project, provided a timeline as a refresher.
“I’ve been writing about this project almost 14 years, there are still things to say,” Oder began. The Atlantic Yards project was announced in 2003 with the slogan, “Jobs, Housing, and Hoops,” he explained, before noting that to date, only the Barclays Center and four residential towers (461 Dean, 38 Sixth, 535 Carlton, and 550 Vanderbilt) have been completed. “There are at least 11 more towers to go—two just started, two more will probably start next year,” he said.
The project was originally slated to be completed in ten years by developer Forest City Ratner, with four office towers designed by Frank Gehry surrounding the arena. “None of that happened,” Oder noted. ...
In 2013, Greenland USA, part of the Shanghai-based Greenland Group, purchased a 70% stake in the project (excluding Barclays Center and 461 Dean).
Following pressure from BrooklynSpeaks (a coalition of civic, community, and advocacy groups) in 2014, New York State changed the deadline for the completion of all affordable units to 2025. Also in 2014, the project’s name changed from Atlantic Yards to Pacific Park.
| BrooklynSpeaks | Atlantic Yards must work for Brooklyn |
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In 2016, Forest City finalized its sale of the Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets to Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, according to Oder.
In 2018, Greenland USA bought an additional 25% stake in the project from Forest City, giving the company 95% of the joint venture.
Today, two buildings have recently begun construction: B4 (18 6th Avenue), adjacent to the arena, and B15, across Sixth Avenue. The latter will house a new middle school."
