The clock is ticking on the final days of a likely-to-expire tax break real estate developers rely on to build new apartments — and the rush is on to get foundations in the ground before June 15, when 421-a will end unless the state legislature passes an extension.
In Astoria, Queens, the second phase of the Durst Organization’s massive Hallett’s Point development will have laid all its foundations by the middle of next month — allowing those buildings to qualify for the lucrative property tax incentive. But Phase 3 and its 800 more apartments will be shelved if 421-a expires, says the developer.
“The only place we could build a market rate apartment building without 421-a is near Union Square or maybe in a few other slices of Manhattan,” said Jordan Barowitz, a company vice-president.
In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Two Trees Management Co. has begun constructing 350 Kent as part of its equally massive Domino development, which will add 400 units — 30% of them designated as affordable, or rented to households earning specific incomes, under the city’s inclusionary housing program. But a rep for the developer says the future is “cloudy” for another planned building at Domino and the first two structures planned at its newly approved River Ring site because they may not be able to pour their foundations before the deadline.
New units issued permits soared to 4,091 in March, according to Census Bureau’s building permits survey data analyzed by THE CITY, compared with 2,678 in January and February combined. Sources who have seen preliminary data for April and early May say the surge has continued.
