Pacific Park, Brooklyn’s years-long stalled megadevelopment, could finally move forward after securing new funding and a fresh development team. This week, Cirrus Real Estate and LCOR acquired the development rights to six Brooklyn rail yard sites at a foreclosure auction, after Greenland USA, the project’s former developer, defaulted on nearly $350 million in loans, as first reported by The Real Deal. The new developers have also contributed $12 million to an affordable housing fund, compensating for penalties that were not enforced against Greenland USA for failing to complete 876 affordable apartments by May 2025. The move represents a significant step forward for the project, which was launched more than two decades ago.
First proposed in 2003 under the name Atlantic Yards and led by developer Forest City Ratner, the 22-acre project initially included a new stadium that would be home to the former New Jersey Nets and 15 residential and office buildings, the highlight of which would be a glass supertall tower designed by Frank Gehry, as 6sqft previously reported.
As part of the development, a platform was planned above the MTA’s Atlantic Yards at the intersection of Pacific Street and Atlantic, Carlton, and Vanderbilt Avenues. According to The Real Deal, the railyard—considered a “blight” by the state—was a major factor in New York’s choice to take the sites by eminent domain and lease them to developers.
The project was plagued with challenges from the jump. Construction was delayed for years by lawsuits from residents and property owners displaced under the eminent domain agreement, a planned modular tower ran into obstacles, and major crises such as the 2008 financial crash and the Covid pandemic further stalled progress.
Additionally, the expiration of the 421-a property tax abatement in 2022 created another setback, with Greenland claiming that without the tax break, it could not construct the affordable units.
Greenland, an initial stakeholder in the project, was required under a 2014 agreement with the city to build 876 additional affordable rental apartments by 2025. The agreement included a $2,000-per-month penalty for each unbuilt unit, which could total up to $21 million annually if deadlines were missed. In January 2018, Greenland took over 95 percent ownership of the project, according to a press release.
As of December 2023, nine of the 15 planned buildings had been completed, though plans for the Gehry-designed tower were scrapped. The Barclays Center, now owned by Mikhail Prokhorov and home to the Nets, has opened. That month, Greenland USA defaulted on nearly $350 million in loans linked to the second phase, sending the development to a foreclosure auction and passing on the penalties and affordable housing obligations to the new developer.
Cirrus and LCOR will contribute $12 million to an affordable housing fund, including an upfront payment of $4.5 million. Empire State Development (ESD), the state agency overseeing the project, has paused the $2,000-per-month fines and set new deadlines, the first of which has already been missed. The agency opted not to enforce the penalties, citing concerns that Greenland would sue over the fines and further delay the project, The Real Deal reports.
Still, the $12 million payment remains far below the fines outlined in the 2014 agreement, which could have totaled $42 million.
Greenland remains a partner in the project, though in a much smaller capacity. The developer plans to monetize the B1 parcel, where a tower was previously proposed, and Site 5 across Flatbush Avenue. This would pave the way for a massive two-tower project at Site 5, which ESD has already approved, though it still requires public approval and a vote by the ESD board, according to the Atlantic Yards Report.
With ESD’s approval of the joint venture and the transfer of the six remaining sites, the long-awaited project can finally enter its next chapter. During this phase, ESD plans to establish new benchmarks for progress. If a memorandum of understanding is not signed by July 31, 2026, the agency could still enforce the fines outlined in the 2014 agreement, dating back to June 1.
The new developers plan to revise the project, which originally called for 2,400 apartments, including 2,250 designated as below market-rate. These revisions will require updates to the state’s general project plan, and a public engagement process to discuss the proposals is scheduled for the coming months, according to The Real Deal.
Cirrus and LCOR will also take over development rights to the public plaza in front of the Barclays Center, a site that Greenland had previously intended to transfer to the larger Site 5 project.
Nick Mastroianni of the United States Immigration Fund, another project stakeholder, says he expects the plan to be revised and finalized over the next 18 months. The first phase, which includes constructing the first of two railyard platforms, is projected to cost $4 billion and take roughly five years to complete. The second phase is expected to cost an additional $2 billion.
“Looking ahead we believe Pacific Park is poised to deliver on its promise to build thousands of housing units, retail, office space, providing public amenities designed to benefit the diverse Brooklyn community,” Mastroianni said in a statement.
“Pacific Park has been a long-term vision and with new leadership, capital, and updated structure we believe the vision is finally being realized,” further commented Mastroianni.”
However, the Atlantic Yards Report states that the first phase is unlikely to cost $4 billion, as the initial platform—located between Atlantic and Pacific Streets and Sixth and Carlton Avenues—should be less complex and expensive than the second, which will sit between Carlton and Vanderbilt Avenues.
The developers owe the Metropolitan Transportation Authority $11 million annually through 2030 for air rights to construct the platforms above the railyard.
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