The owners of 405 Park Avenue are buying 30,000 square feet of air rights from St. Patrick’s Cathedral for about $10 million, the second deal under the city’s Midtown East rezoning.
MRP Realty and Deutsche Bank Asset Management teamed up to buy 405 Park Avenue in 2016 for $240 million and now plan to add four floors and 205,000 square feet of office space to the building with the air rights purchase, according to Crain’s.
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The building now stands 17 stories tall, and the companies are also planning a gut renovation of the property, making improvements to the façade and the lobby.
still sad that this won’t be razed. I hope its a complete overhaul.
If there was a commandment for not coveting thy neighbor’s air rights deal, The Brook would face damnation. The exclusive private men’s club agreed to sell its unused development rights to the owners of 405 Park Avenue, scuttling a previous agreement with St. Patrick’s Cathedral and costing the church millions.
Because its property sits right next to 405 Park, the club can sell its air rights under pre-rezoning rules and doesn’t have to pay into a city fund for public upgrades.
Unless the entities are somehow related (which I’m not aware of) then either of the two will ask the other an exorbitant price for their building’s air rights or a purchase, so I doubt that would happen. I suppose they could form a new team between all of the players, but there’d be a lot of heads to divide up the eventual profit among. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
I’m holding out on celebrating because I’m not sure somebody can whip up a worthy successor to this building. It’s probably going to be a slender box like 343 Madison, but half the height.
