(DNAINFO) Amy Zimmer and Jeff Mays  | January 12, 2016 — The cost to execute Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to create 80,000 new units of affordable housing could balloon by $2.8 billion if developers are required to pay a prevailing wage to construction workers, the nonpartisan Independent Budget Office said Monday.

Real estate developers and construction labor unions have until Friday to reach an agreement over wages for workers building new developments under the state’s 421-a tax break program.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said a deal to renew the abatement — first implemented in the 1970s to spur housing development during a fiscal crisis — must include some form of a prevailing wage requirement for construction workers for buildings with 15 or more units.

Source: City Could Face Extra $2.8B in Construction Costs Under New 421-a Tax Deal – Kingsbridge – DNAinfo.com New York