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According to Erin Durkin from Daily News

Deal is official on Astoria Cove: Affordable housing will increase to 27%, developer will pay for ferry service and use union labor

https://twitter.com/erinmdurkin

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[A new rendering of Astoria Cove. Via the New York Post.]

Tuesday, November 25, 2014, by Jessica Dailey

Residents of Astoria, it's time to start preparing for another megaproject. City Council voted today to approve developer Alma Realty's plans for a controversial 1,723-unit development on the Queens waterfront, known as Astoria Cove. The approval was expected, as the council's land use committee approved the plan earlier this month. After months of negotiations, it's been decided that the development will be built with all union labor, and 460 of the 1,723 units (about 27 percent) will be reserved as affordable housing for families with a range of incomes.

The Observer reports that the city agreed to commit "$5 million in tax payer money toward the construction of a ferry dock on the peninsula," as well as "finding sources for remaining $3 million needed to make the boat-boarding point a reality." The city will also spend $1 million to upgrade a library, and another $500,000 to improve a senior center in the nearby NYCHA houses. Alma agreed to upgrade a local park for an unspecified sum, and include a grocery store and new public school.

City Council members spoke optimistically about the project, but some experts are skeptical as to whether or not it will actually be built. Crain's speculates that Alma may actually flip the property:

Crain's has confirmed that a minority partner has already been seeking a buyer for its stake. While majority partner John Mavroudis says he intends to build the project, he lacks the track record on ambitious developments to put much confidence in his assurances. After all, one group won approval for Hallets Point and then sold it to deep-pocketed Durst.
In addition, some less-than-flattering news has come out about the developer—Alma's founder allegedly bribed a Greek bank in 1995 for $5.7 million—and many critics are pointing to these shady dealings as a reason why the city should not work with them. Seems like the ship has sailed on that one, but what do we know.

[chris08876]

Towers are coming to Astoria, Queens, but will jobs?

Walking west on 30th Avenue from Astoria's business district, the bustling restaurants, shops and coffee spots slowly get fewer and farther between until a cluster of industrial buildings covered with Technicolor graffiti comes into view at the end of the road, across from the sprawling Astoria Houses complex. Many of the 3,000-odd residents have spent decades far removed from the mainstream—until now.

In recent months, as plans for two multitower residential complexes along the East River have advanced, a growing sense of anticipation has infused the atmosphere. In the coming years, the Halletts Point and Astoria Cove projects will replace hulking brick monoliths—housing businesses such as Super Stud Building Products—with more than 4,000 apartments, stores, a school and something else: jobs.

"The main issue [for us] is basically employment opportunities," said Claudia Coger, president of the Astoria Houses Residents Association, which has given its full-throated support to both projects. "And [the developers] have been gracious to meet with us on a regular basis and listen to what we have to say."

[...]

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http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...-but-will-jobs

[chris08876]

Astoria Cove project stalled over shaky finances, not expired subsidy

A massive waterfront housing development in Astoria that required low- to moderate-income apartments prior to a citywide mandatory affordable housing policy has been scuttled. It's a disappointment for Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had boasted that the project would be a "real game changer" in affordable housing.

From the time the 2.2-million-square-foot Astoria Cove project passed the City Council in November of 2014, developers questioned the economics of the project. Several speculated the builder, Alma Realty, would have a hard time obtaining financing for a development in which 27 percent of the 1,723 planned apartments — 459 units — would be rented to people paying less than the market rate in a neighborhood that does not command top-dollar rents.

Alma had also agreed to pay union rates for construction work, which can significantly drive up the cost of any project.

One developer who has been closely following the project said his firm repeatedly looked at the financial details of the project, only to conclude it would be nearly impossible to find a lender.

"That project needs a $65-a-square-foot rent and the rents out there are in the high $40s," said the developer, who would only speak on background. "It was sort of a lack of sophistication on behalf of all involved and that's what you get. If you create a fantasy, you only get a project in fantasy land."

In a statement to DNAinfo, which broke the news last week, Alma told a different story, blaming the project's failure on the expiration of the lucrative 421-a property tax break.

"Projects like this were conceived with 421-a in mind. We rely on its reauthorization in order to move ahead," said John Mavroudis, principal of the company that owns the site, 2030 Astoria Developers.

The mayor's aides similarly attributed the project's demise to the end of 421-a.

But the explanation doesn't add up.

The developer never received the tax break before it sunset in June of 2015, nor did it get it during a seven-month extension that was granted so sparring parties could come to a deal. (Such a deal was never reached.) Developers can get the tax break once they show some tangible effort to start a development.

Alma also did not provide the proper mix of low-income housing to qualify for the reformed version of 421-a that the mayor put forward in spring of 2015. That version was ultimately approved by the state Legislature but halted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo because of a dispute over construction wages.

Alma did not respond to repeated calls for comment and, in statements to DNAinfo, disputed a POLITICO New York story from last summer pointing out that Astoria Cove would not qualify for the reformed 421-a.

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http://www.politico.com/states/new-y...a-lapse-104111

[chris08876]

Building Trades sues Alma Realty for allegedly backing out of agreement to use union labor

The Building and Construction Trades Council is going after Alma Realty for allegedly sidestepping its promise to hire union labor on its Astoria Cove megaproject.

The union group headed by Gary LaBarbera filed a lawsuit against the developer in New York federal court on Monday, alleging that Alma has failed to negotiate a project labor agreement for the planned 2.2 million-square-foot, mixed-use development. According to the lawsuit, Alma agreed in November 2015 — as part of the negotiations leading up to the City Council’s approval of the project — to hire members of the BCTC for Astoria Cove. In exchange, the group agreed to support the development.

The lawsuit cites permits issued for demolition and plumbing work, as well as the installation of a sidewalk shed as evidence that the developer has embarked on construction work without inking a deal with union laborers.

According to the lawsuit, Alma explained to the BCTC that the city’s Department of Buildings ordered the emergency demolition of a one-story building on the site. The union group maintains that construction continued at the site even after Alma assured BCTC that the company still planned to negotiate a project labor agreement.


A spokesperson for Alma referred to the lawsuit as frivolous and “without merit.”

“No physical work has been done for the Astoria Cove project,” the spokesperson said in an email. “The only activity at the site was an emergency demolition order mandated by the city. The emergency work that was ordered is in full compliance and has all relevant approvals.”

The project has been stalled for some time. Most recently, Alma blamed the lapse of the 421a tax break for its inability to move forward on the project, but Politico reported in July that shaky financials were likely the real reason for the delays. Alma started marketing the property in April for $350 million, citing the pending return of 421a.

It’s unclear how a sale of the waterfront property would impact the lawsuit or the agreement to use union labor. But if the project receives the tax exemption, the developer — whoever that ultimately may be — will need to either ink a project labor agreement or pay construction workers an average of $45 per hour, as required under 421a’s successor, Affordable New York.

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TRD

[chris08876]

While this is indeed stalled, I think we should be very patient with this mega project.

Once this litigation clears up, and the effects of 421a (new program) start to show its impact, I think this will rise in time.

The land is too prime for it to go sitting empty indefinitely.

[tdawg]

Meanwhile the Halletts Point project is shooting up around the bend in the cove. With the new ferry dock opening in August and the BQX streetcar still a possibility, its just a matter of time for this area.