RCA in the commercial property press:

State’s Top Court Will Hear Appeal Against Atlantic Yards

The New York Times reports: New York’s highest court has agreed to hear a case challenging the state’s use of eminent domain on behalf of the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn.

The decision by the top court, the Court of Appeals, to hear arguments in October came as something of a surprise to the project’s developer, Bruce C. Ratner, who had expected a clear path after a lower court rejected the case in a unanimous decision in May.

The Court of Appeals’ involvement, announced on Monday, is the latest hurdle to Mr. Ratner’s plans to build a $772 million basketball arena, the centerpiece of the project. The developer and his bankers intend to sell about $650 million in bonds for the arena in late September. Both sides expressed confidence that they would prevail.

Mr. Ratner must finance the project and begin construction by Dec. 31 to qualify for tax-exempt status, which would save him millions of dollars in borrowing costs. Most analysts say it is unlikely that conventional bonds would sell in the current market.

"I certainly don’t envy anyone who has to raise capital in the current environment," said Robert White of Real Capital Analytics, a research firm.