The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) moved up the date of their scheduled December 18 Board of Directors meeting to Thursday December 4 to address as soon as possible the Agenda item approving a proposed 10 year lease extension of the Roosevelt Island Master lease agreement between New York City and NY State together with a non binding agreement to explore further residential building development.
According to the December 4 RIOC Board Meeting Agenda:
Authorization to Enter into the Second Amendment of Lease to Extend the 1969 Master Lease and the Non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with the City of New York (Board Action Required)
Below is the full Agenda.
This excerpt from a November 25 memo by RIOC President BJ Jones to the RIOC Board of Directors supports approval of the Master Lease Extension:
… This Extension Term will help owners of leasehold condominiums on Roosevelt Island obtain new mortgages and refinance existing mortgages, which will, in turn, provide more funds for maintenance and repair of existing housing stock, give residents more control over their housing costs, and prevent the potential devaluation of their homes.
While most of the land on Roosevelt Island has been redeveloped consistent with the General Development Plan attached to the Master Lease (GDP) and includes residential housing, commercial space, open space, public facilities and infrastructure, RIOC, the City, and State of New York (State) recognize the need for more housing given the City’s housing crisis with potential at two underutilized sites on Roosevelt Island, both of which have been used in connection with operations of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. These two sites are: (i) the site of the decommissioned steam plant (Steam Plant Site), which is currently being demolished, and (ii) the site of Coler Specialty Hospital and Home (Coler Site), which is currently in use, though underutilized. There is also the recognition of the need for additional funding to support future operational and capital needs, which new development may provide, as well as the need for a longer-term Master Lease extension beyond the ten-year extension to further provide greater stability and certainty for home andbuilding owners.
In conjunction with the aforementioned ten-year extension, RIOC, the City, and the State also desire to enter into a nonbinding memorandum of understanding (MOU) that establishes a framework for the parties to work cooperatively to develop a plan with the goal of including mixed-income development and supporting infrastructure….
Here’s the full proposed resolution and memo in support.
This 10 year Roosevelt Island Master Lease extension by itself does not address any ground lease extensions for the individual Roosevelt Island buildings. The extension of the ground lease for each Roosevelt Island building is necessary to achieve the stated goal of assisting residential and commercial property owners in obtaining new mortgages and financings.
Do not have a copy of the Master Lease Extension Agreement but here is the 1969 Master Lease as amended.
Among the other items on Agenda for the December 4 RIOC Board meeting are:
UPDATE 12/5 – All of the Agenda items were approved by the RIOC Board of Directors.