Bossert deal falls through

by Dogpatch 21 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Dogpatch

  Mebbe Gene Smalley will have to forgo that room remodel... Dogz

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  October 23, 2008

  Levine Walks, Bossert Back in Play

  
  At the eleventh hour, R.A.L. Companies has walked away from its contract to purchase the former Bossert Hotel from the Watchtower Group, a source familiar with the situation tells us. RAL, the development company headed by Robert Levine, had signed an agreement to purchase the 14-story former hotel at 98 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights for $92 million back in the spring of this year with the intention of leasing it out as student housing; the deal reportedly had been scheduled to close by the end of last month. Our source says that financing had been difficult to come by; it's also possible that with sales at One Brooklyn Bridge Park not as far along as hoped Levine didn't want any more Brooklyn Heights exposure right now. Either way, expect the 224-unit property to start being shown again soon. Tough break for Watchtower: It's hard to imagine the building fetching anywhere near $92 million in this environment.
  The Bossert Finds a Buyer [Brownstoner] GMAP
  The Bossert on the Block [Brownstoner]
  Photo by hetteix
• 

  yknot

  92 million dollars !!!!

  OMG !!!

  If anyone in the WTS has any senses....... they will keep the property for another 5 years until the market rebounds.

  Thanks Randy for keeping us updated !!!!
• 

  treadnh2o

  Is this due the credit crunch or is it Jehovah's Holy Spirit acting in ways we may not understand? HMMMM.......
• 

  NewYork44M

  I wonder how this will affect there budget for next year. They were probably planning on spending this cash on some sort of value added service to the r&f. - NOT
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Well, they can always hope for more hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, wars.
  That way, they can ask the members to give to the worldwide work a bit more
  so they can help the "brothers and sisters" in the disaster areas.
  
  You know, they can send volunteers with donated time and energy and feed
  the JW's with donated food, and let them sleep in the "friends" homes and the
  WTS can dribble a few dollars out of the hundreds of thousands of extra money
  that they insisted not be "earmarked" for the disaster, but just sent. That way,
  the volunteers will have some plywood and roofing material to work with and
  WTS will have extra money to make up the need to sell Bossert for millions
  less.

  If a natural disaster doesn't occur, they can always dissolve a few hundred
  congregations and sell their Kingdom Halls. There's always a way. Maybe
  there won't be any new lawsuits this year.
• 

  OUTLAW

  92 million dollars..another 12 million from the last pedophile case.....That`s a decent hit.....Right now the WBT$ is out 102 million..A few more casualties like that and the WBT$ could start hurting................................OUTLAW
• 

  sir82

  It's hard to imagine the building fetching anywhere near $92 million in this environment.

  Don't you worry, Jehovah's rich hand will surely back this divine endeavor to increase kingdom interests....

  Sorry, that's as much as I can do without becoming nauseous.
• 

  Doubting Bro

  Obviously, Holy Spirit created the credit crunch and is directing the WTS to keep more of their operations in Brooklyn! Funny, if something good would have happened with this sale, that's what they would have been saying. Something bad, "time and unforeseen occurrence befall us all" The Bossert is an awesome building with a great location. It will be interesting to see what they do. That building probably isn't worth the 92m right now, I'd guess 80m? Of course, if they keep it, it costs. If they are truly short of cash, they'll end up selling this building at a much lower price. That should be a great indicator. By the way, I heard an elder say from the platform a few weeks ago that the WTS selling the Brooklyn properties prior to the real estate crash was proof that Jesus is leading them. Uh, does this mean that its proof that he's not?
• 

  sacolton

  I don't recall contributing to the "worldwide work" as purchasing a hotel for renovations. What the hell does the Watchtower need a hotel for?
• 

  DaCheech

  they must be loosing millions in the stock market right now (wts that is)