NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded Brooklyn's L train infrastructure with
seven million gallons of saltwater, leaving behind significant damage. The train tunnel will be closing for repairs, and nearly three out of four (71%) commercial real estate executives expect Brooklyn property values to decline during this restoration process, according to Marks Paneth's most recent Gotham Commercial Real Estate Monitor. What's worse, since a timeline has yet to be established for the repair work, nobody knows how negative - or prudential real estate how long - the impact of the closure will be. The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) does not expect to award a contract for the project before the end of 2016. It is still unclear how the L train will operate during the restoration. The L train is a critical component of cross-town transportation, running ten miles from west Manhattan to southeastern Brooklyn. According to the MTA, nearly a quarter of a million people ride the L train between these two points every weekday. Opinions among CRE executives are divided as to whether Brooklynites will move due to the closure. Although 47 percent do not believe that residents will move, 38 percent think they will. Who is right? It depends, in part, on where commuters live and whether they own or rent. The L train closure is especially likely to affect the Williamsburg and Bushwick neighborhoods in Brooklyn. The majority of people who live in these neighborhoods are renters, not owners. Renters are more likely to move, which may push prices down. William Jennings, partner-in-charge of Marks Paneth's Real Estate Group, believes there may be a silver lining: "In neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant or Greenpoint, which have access to other modes of transit, prices may actually rise as renters migrate to neighborhoods unaffected by the closure." A quarter of executives surveyed agreed that prices in neighborhoods unaffected by the L train closure could very well increase. Mr. Jennings also pointed out that any downturn resulting from the L train closure may create buying opportunities: "It will be interesting to see where the smart money invests. I wouldn't be surprised commercial real estate property if demand for office space increases in Brooklyn, as companies attempt to accommodate residents affected by the closure." Methodology The survey was completed by 145 professionals working in New York City commercial real estate, including legal counsel, bankers and lenders, brokers and agents, developers, property managers and owners. The results reported here are based on completed self-administered surveys, fielded in late February and early March, 2016. For more information, please contact John McKenna of ICR, Inc. at (203) 682-8252 or [email protected]. The full survey results can be found here. About Marks Paneth Marks Paneth LLP is an accounting firm with more than 600 people, including over 80 partners and principals. The firm provides public and private businesses with a full range of auditing, accounting, tax, consulting, trade remediation and valuation services as well as litigation and financial advisory services to domestic and international clients. The firm also specializes in providing tax advisory and consulting for high-net-worth individuals and their families, as well as a wide range of services for international, real estate, hospitality, media, entertainment, nonprofit and government services clients. The firm has a strong track record supporting emerging growth companies, entrepreneurs, business owners and investors as they navigate the business life cycle. The firm's subsidiary, Tailored Technologies, LLC, provides information technology consulting services. In addition, Marks Paneth's membership in Morison KSi Ltd., a leading international association for independent business advisers, financial consulting and accounting firms, facilitates service delivery to clients throughout the United States and around the world. Marks Paneth, whose origins date back to 1907, is the 34th largest accounting firm in the nation and the 8th largest in the mid-Atlantic region. In addition, readers of the New York Law Journal rank Marks Paneth as one of the area's top three forensic accounting firms for the sixth year in a row. Marks Paneth is headquartered in New York City, with additional offices in Washington, DC, New Jersey, Long Island and Westchester. For more information, please visit markspaneth.com.
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