Panels: 'The Sky Is Not Falling'

[IMGCAP(1)]NEW YORK CITY-A $500-million ground-up land deal will yield a 360,000-sf residential tower on Central Park South, according to panelist, Alan Miller, senior director at Eastern Consolidated at Incisive Media’s RealShare New York conference on Thursday. Miller hints the property is being built by a “well-known firm, backed by foreign capital.” Miller might have been referring to 22 Central Park South, which is currently undergoing a renovation with Tishman Construction signs hanging in its doorways.

This type of deal was indicative of most of the panelists’ tone at the Seventh Annual commercial real estate event. Movers and shakers of CRE gathered within the towering majesty of the Roosevelt Hotel here to discuss and debate the future of New York’s real estate market. Despite the downturn, the mood was optimistic.

The conference began with keynote speaker Seth Pinsky from the New York City Economic Development Corp. (NYCEDC), voicing his opinion that Mayor Michael Bloomberg was the “best mayor this city has ever seen.” Pinsky pointed out that currently, New York had the highest bond rating in 80 years and that, by the end of the mayor’s term, the boroughs will have “rezoned 20% of the city’s land area.” Listing some of these accomplishments, Pinsky rattled off a slew of ongoing projects including, the far Westside, the 11th Avenue subway expansion, Willet’s Point, Hunt’s Point, the Atlantic Yards project and the two new stadiums in the Bronx and Queens.