曼哈顿翠贝卡111 Murray Street 小图为Steven Witkoff
Rendering of 111 Murray Street in Tribeca (credit: KPF) (inset: Steve Witkoff)
纽约地产界的开发商Steve Witkoff在本周一早上一个地产峰会上表示支持联邦的EB-5项目，也就是我们俗称的投资移民项目。而且他也相信今秋国会将针对EB-5项目进行一系列的改革。
Steve Witkoff expressed support for the EB-5 federal visa program at a panel discussion Monday morning, while expressing his belief that the program “is going to change” when up for renewal before Congress this fall.
这位地产开发商还认为公众对EB-5项目有很多的“措辞不当”。上周前纽约州州长斯皮策就对EB-5开火反对这个以投资50万元交换美国绿卡的政策。而他相信，今秋，这项政策的延续在国会将遭遇政治阻力。
The developer noted “a lot of misnomers” in the public perception of the program, which came under fire from former New York governor Eliot Spitzer last week and could face political obstacles in its reauthorization process this September.
Witkoff认为他并不依靠EB-5项目获得投资资本，而这个项目确实帮助他在曼哈顿翠贝卡地区的111 Murray Street的住宅大楼开发项目，在开发过程中一共创造了1,500个工作岗位。这个由Witkoff和Fisher兄弟以及Howard Lorber’s New Valley 共同开发的157个单位大楼，本周开始销售。
While Witkoff said he’s “not dependent” on EB-5, the program helped fund his residential tower at 111 Murray Street in Tribeca and created 1,500 jobs through the construction of the development. The 157-unit building, which Witkoff co-developed with Fisher Brothers and Howard Lorber’s New Valley, launched sales this week.
在曼哈顿中城的纽约城市大学研究中心举行的纽约房地产峰会上，这位地产大亨明确表示，“这是一个明智的项目。为什么你要改变一个会创造就业的项目？”
“It’s actually a smart program,” he said at Michael Stoler’s New York Real Estate Summit, held at the CUNY Graduate Center in Midtown. “Why in the world would you change a job-creating program?”
有关于EB-5的误解，Witkoff指出几项事实，这个项目已经存在有20年了而且每年有10,000个签证的配额，EB-5更像是贷款而并非投资工具。
Referring to misconceptions surrounding EB-5, Witkoff pointed to the fact that the program has “been in existence for 20 years” and employs a limit of 10,000 visas awarded annually — as well as its status as a loan, rather than an investment vehicle.
他也预测未来EB-5的门槛会从现在的$50万上涨到$80万，而且有可能在一些“指定的区域”才能够发展EB-5项目。
Still, he forecast changes to the minimum investment required to become eligible for the program – to $800,000 from the current $500,000 – and potentially to “deployment zones” where projects funded by EB-5 can be built.
Witkoff 表示“夹层贷款者”（Mezzanine Lenders）是EB-5项目的天敌，他解释说夹层贷款者如何允许更便宜的投资成本用于项目开发。
Witkoff also described mezzanine lenders as “the natural enemy” of the EB-5 program, citing how it allows a cheaper cost of capital for project funding.
Witkoff用他的111 Murray街项目举例说，“该项目创造的1,500个工作岗位不受EB-5项目的补贴，我无论怎样要要向夹层贷款者借贷。但是我不受15% 资产担保的夹层贷款的限制。”
“The 1,500 jobs didn’t get subsidized by EB-5; I would have gotten the mezz loan anyway,” he said, referring to 111 Murray Street as an example. "But I haven’t been constricted by a 15 percent rate on mezzanine money.”
