The city today agreed to grant a Brooklyn developer $15 million in tax-exempt stimulus bonds to jumpstart a stalled project to build a boutique luxury hotel in Williamsburg.
Father-and-son developers David and Jed Walentas, who are best known for rebuilding nearby DUMBO into an upscale neighborhood, are benefiting from President Obama’s $25 billion federal stimulus bond program geared at stimulating economic growth.
The Walentases plan to build a 73-room hotel within a century-old former textile factory at the corner of Wythe Avenue and North 11th Street. Construction is expected to begin early next year and be completed in 2012.
The city’s pool of the federal Recovery Zone Bonds program is $121 million, and it previously dished out $100 million for shovel-ready projects, including $20 million for the massive City Point mixed-use development in Downtown Brooklyn.
Jed Walentas hailed the city’s decision to help finance the hotel.
“This hotel will create many jobs for the vibrant Williamsburg community, both during the construction process and once operational,” he said.
However the developers’ job estimates differ from the city.
The Walentases’ application estimated the project would bring 195 full-time jobs and 75 construction jobs – well below the city’s estimate of 53 construction jobs and 33 permanent jobs.
When asked today about the project Borough President Marty Markowitz said, “if [the Walentase] deliver the jobs they promised then it will be great for the borough, but we’ll have to see.”