Related Gets Tax Breaks for Willets Point, Hudson Yards Projects
By Gus Delaporte December 11, 2013 12:00 pm
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The New York Industrial Development Agency yesterday approved tax breaks for the Related Companies’ projects at Willets Point and Hudson Yards.
Related and Sterling Equities, the company’s partner in the Willets Point development project, will receive state and city benefits totaling over $50 million. That figure includes $27.9 million in property-tax abatements and a further $14.7 million in mortgage-recording-tax waivers from the city.
The IDA voted 12-1 with one abstention in favor of the exemptions. All agency benefits are outlined ahead of time with the understanding that they then need to be approved by the agency’s board, according to an agency spokesperson. The benefits for the Related and Sterling Equities were outlined in the contract of sale for the land.
As reported by The Commercial Observer, the city’s Economic Development Agency, the IDA’s parent, agreed last month to sell 23 acres of land to Queens Development LLC, a joint venture between Sterling Equities and Related Companies, for $1. The plot of land, which borders the New York Mets’ Citi Field, is the target of the developer’s $3 billion development plan.
Related Companies was approved for an additional $76.5 million in property-tax exemptions to redesign a 49-story tower in Hudson Yards, according to Bloomberg News. The IDA voted 12-0 in favor of the exemption with two abstentions.
When reached for comment, an agency spokesperson could not immediately confirm the value of the Hudson Yards tax exemptions.
In October, the IDA approved a $328 million tax exemption for Related’s 80-story North Tower and connecting retail center at the Hudson Yards site. The exemption, outlined in the 2006 Hudson Yards Uniform Tax Exemption Policy, will see Related benefit from a 40 percent abatement on property taxes at the development site for four years. The taxes will then begin to phase back in through the 19th year of the abatement.
