WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. By John F. Bailey. August 8, 2006; UPDATED August 11, 2006: The city Urban Renewal Agency will be asked Friday morning to borrow $9-10 Million to finance affordable housing at The Pinnacle. The innovative arrangement is made possible by invoking an obscure statute which in the opinion of the city's bond lawyer,  grants the agency the ability to finance beneficial projects within the urban renewal district, Paul Wood, the City's Executive Officer said today.

The action, in effect, turns the Urban Renewal Agency into a city "Industrial Development Agency" for the Urban Renewal District. Whether this "City IDA" could extend its "help" to other parts of the city is not known.

The Mayor is expected to ask the Urban Renewal Agency Friday morning to borrow  $9 Million to $10 Million to aid developer Martin Ginsburg in building the 52 units of affordable housing Ginsburg has promised to build at his Pinnacle project as part of his approval for the project, Paul Wood, the City's Executive Officer announced today.

The money had previously been sought by Ginsburg Development Corporation from the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency but was refused according to the Ginsburg orgranization. Wood said he discovered the Urban Renewal Agency statute, but did not have a copy of it for reporters at the time of the WPCNR call. Wood said after discussions with the City Commissioner of Planning Susan Habel and the city bond lawyer, Randy Meir, he felt confident the bonding ability was within the Urban Renewal Agency's discretion.

Wood said the $10 million in bonds would not be the city debt to pay back, but would be Ginsburg's responsibility. He said in the first edition of this article,  that the 52 units, 41 being built for Louis Cappelli, the Super Developer, as part of an agreement Cappelli and Ginsburg made allowing Ginsburg to build the Pinnacle, would cost Ginsburg $52 Million to build and the financing would speed construction. However, in official documents describing the proposal released August 10, the cost of the building has been put at $17 Million.

The announcement of the surprise financing through the Urban Renewal Agency, removes the delay that has been plaguing The Pinnacle project. Monday evening the Common Council approved an increase in height of The Pinnacle to 28 stories on the consent agenda with no hearing or discussion.

However, Councilman Benjamin Boykin expressed concern on when the affordable housing piece of the project planned for the Main Street side of the Pinnacle, would be started by Ginsburg. The Certificate of Occupancy for the 221 Main Ritz Carlton Project, that Cappelli is hoping to open in fall, 2007, cannot be issued until the affordable housing Cappelli owes for approval of that project is opened.

Details of the payment arrangements and responsibilities of the parties are sketchy at this time.