City University of New York has picked Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner to build a skyscraper for New York City College of Technology’s Downtown campus — a $186-million Renzo Piano-designed facility that will include classrooms and hundreds of luxury units controlled by the developer, The Brooklyn Papers has learned.
The state will finance the CUNY portion of the development, while underwriting Ratner’s construction through bonds.
Ratner won the development rights in competition with one other builder — but state officials would not release information about either bid, nor what Ratner paid for the right to develop luxury housing at a crucial site at the corner of Jay and Tillary streets.
The majority of the residential units will be sold or rented at market rates, but Ratner’s winning bid included a commitment to reserve 20 percent of the rentals at below-market rates. That commitment would make Ratner eligible for additional subsidies.
The building is the first collaboration between CUNY and Forest City Ratner and the sixth between the company and the state in Downtown Brooklyn. In one such deal, Ratner erected an office building on Jay Street that is shared by a city courthouse and private offices.
CUNY spokesman Mike Arena said the “project deals with our academic needs, while reflecting an ambitious plan to create a stronger presence for the school in Downtown Brooklyn.” But other public officials, and Ratner’s spokespeople, declined to give details.
Piano also designed the New York Times building in Manhattan, currently being built by Ratner.
