Newsday (New York)

April 24, 2003 Thursday QUEENS EDITION

SECTION: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY, Pg. A42

LENGTH: 310 words

HEADLINE: Caterers Eye $10M Bond Aid

BYLINE: By Katia Hetter. STAFF WRITER

A small portion of the billions intended to revitalize downtown has been designated for South Street Seaport caterer Bridgewaters.

The company is likely to receive some $10 million in Liberty Bond financing to develop a 4,000-person convention center on-site, state and local economic development agency officials confirmed.

"Locating a conference and meeting facility in the unique Fulton Market building will be a great addition to the Seaport and lower Manhattan," said Andrew Alper, president of the New York City Economic Development Corp., which oversees the city-owned South Street Seaport. "I am pleased that EDC has been able to assist the state in developing this project."

The project, which has received the initial go-ahead from EDC and Empire State Development Corp.'s Liberty Development Corp., will be approved after the developer sends final financing information to the agencies, said an Empire State spokesman.

Bridgewaters, which already leases the 31,000 square-foot third floor at the Fulton Market building on Fulton Street from the Rouse Co., would renovate the second floor for the convention center. Company owner Peter Glazier expects construction to start this fall, and be completed sometime early next year.

"With our present facility - Bridgewaters - we would be able to take advantage of our foothold in the market and expand our product," said Glazier, whose company also owns the Monkey Bar, Michael Jordan's The Steak House N.Y.C., the Strip House and Twenty Four Fifth.

Congress created the Liberty Bond program in March 2002 after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, giving the city and the state the power to issue up to $8 billion in tax-free municipal bonds, including for commercial construction downtown. The benefit is in the bonds' tax-free status - companies have to pay the bonds back over time.