Developer Read Sells More of Rheingold Mega-Project, Community Organizers Cry Foul

Read Property Group, developer of the massive Bushwick mega-project Rheingold Brewery — it encompasses at least 10 city blocks — has sold part of the site to another developer, named Joel Goldman. The sale has not yet hit public records, but Read told local Council Member Antonio Reynoso and community development watchdog group Rheingold Construction Committee about the sale, City Limits reported.

It’s business as usual for developers to resell or flip development sites. But Reynoso and community organizers are worried Goldman and another developer, Rabsky — which also bought part of the site last year, for $53,000,000 — won’t honor the promises Read made to build affordable housing on the site in exchange for a 2013 rezoning.

Because the site has already been rezoned, it won’t fall under Mayor de Blasio’s proposed new rules, which would mandate developers set aside 25 to 30 percent for affordable units in such situations. (Above, a rendering of ODA’s design for one building in the complex.) But Rabsky has already said it plans to carry through with Read’s promises.

And if that turns out not to be the case, we wouldn’t be surprised to see de Blasio step in to negotiate. In any case, the situation highlights the need for a standard set of rules such as de Blasio has proposed.

[Source: City Limits | Rendering: ODA | Map: DNA]

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