NEW YORK—An internal memorandum revealed that the 16-tower Brooklyn development Atlantic Yards will be fully controlled by the Chinese firm Greenland Holding, contrary to the developers’ public statements.
Forest City Ratner Company originally said Greenland Holding Group Co. would take a 70 percent stake in the project and Forest City would remain the managing member.
An internal memo by the New York State Empire State Development Corporation was released by the blog BrooklynSpeaks Jan. 21. It reveals that Greenland will control the Atlantic Yards Development and may buy out the remaining 30 percent.
The joint venture between the two companies is managed by a five person board. The chairman, CEO, and CFO are appointed by Greenland and president and vice president by Forest City.
“The agreement does provide for a possible buy-out in the event of a deadlock among the members of the board of managers,” the memo states. After the exhaustion of other options, there is also the possibility of the dilution of a member’s interest “if it fails to meet certain obligations.”
“It cannot be assumed that the 30-70 [percent] division of interests described above is a permanent arrangement,” the memo stated.
Forest City will retain veto powers if there is no buyout.
Greenland is a state-run Global 500 company with 70 construction projects across China. The company has entered into Korea and Australia, and last year purchased a $1 billion development parcel in Los Angeles.
Greenland’s investment had come with much criticism from the local community and elected officials, who were frustrated with the delays on the ten-year project. Greenland’s CEO has previously stated wishes to complete the rest of the development within eight years.
