[NYguy]

http://online.wsj.com/articles/affordabl...e-1407894119?mod=rss_newyork_real_estate

Affordable Housing Is Unclear in Brooklyn Hospital Venture
Questions Raised About Lower-Cost Housing at Long Island College Hospital Site


By Laura Kusisto
Aug. 12, 2014

The blow of losing a full-service hospital in the heart of brownstone Brooklyn was eased in part by the expectation the Long Island College Hospital site would host new, affordable apartments in one of the borough's priciest neighborhoods.

But Ron Moelis, a principal at L+M Development Partners, who was presented as an affordable-housing developer for the project led by Fortis Property Group, said he had withdrawn from the venture, raising questions about the likelihood that lower-cost housing would be included at the site.

Mr. Moelis said if Fortis could line up support from city officials to build taller buildings, he would consider working again with the firm on the project, if Fortis wanted him to.

For Fortis to make the project work financially and include affordable apartments, it would likely need to build more housing overall, people familiar with the matter said.

But that could meet with resistance from some groups in the community, which is made up of mostly low-rise building of five stories or less.

Some local leaders said including low-cost units as part of the project is nonnegotiable. "In my opinion it's a deal killer not to have affordable housing," said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

In its most recent proposal, Fortis listed L+M and Full Spectrum NY as its affordable-housing partners.

"We are committed to working with the city, the community and their stakeholders to establish financially viable parameters under which a 25% affordable housing program (low-income and workforce housing) could be developed on the LICH campus," the proposal said.

...If it wants to build more than 800,000 square feet of housing, Fortis would be required to go through a public-approval process that could include winning support from the City Council, the City Planning Commission and Mayor Bill de Blasio.

...But some officials said they were concerned with the lack of clarity about what the development will look like, even as Fortis is expected to close with SUNY on the $240 million sale in the coming months.

"I don't have any way of knowing are they proposing a scenario that includes or doesn't include affordable housing, that includes or doesn't include a zoning change," said City Councilman Brad Lander, who blamed the bidding process set up by the state for not requiring more clarity. "That's very frustrating to me as a city council member."

...High-rise towers are already a sore point in the neighborhood, which is in the midst of a fight over whether to include affordable housing—or any housing at all—near Pier 6 on the edge of Brooklyn Bridge Park. LICH is surrounded by a historic district that has prevented much high-rise construction in the Cobble Hill neighborhood.

"This is our hospital. Now we're told that we have to lose it to make way for housing. It should be the least intrusive housing possible," said Jeff Strabone, a spokesman for the Cobble Hill Association.