Continuing the discussion from NEW YORK | Hudson District - 11th-12th Ave Span:
Major New York City developer wants to build giant rental tower near Hudson Yards
Thursday, November 13, 2014, 6:46 PM
Major New York City developer Jeffrey Levine has inked a contract to lease a massive site on 29th St. and 11th Ave. from a family that’s owned it for more than a century, the Daily News has learned. But his ability to build on the site rests on whether the city will grant an upzoning, permitting him to build taller than current zoning law allows.
Levine, who already owns a 34-story rental tower across the street at 312 11th Ave., wants to bring a new rental tower to the 62,000-square-foot L-shaped lot.
The development site, which comprises an old Mobil gas station, a gallery and several small brick buildings, runs the entire length of 11th Ave. between 29th and 30th Sts. and encompasses nearly 40 % of the entire city block. Under the terms of the deal, Levine’s Douglaston Development would head up construction of the tower and lease the site for 99 years, while the family would retain ownership of the land beneath.
Levine’s deal for the site is contingent on the upzoning and how much he pays for the lease will ultimately rest on just how high the city allows him to build. The going rate for similar deals in the neighborhood is north of $300 per buildable square foot, experts said.
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301-309 11th Avenue and 603-613 West 29th Street
The first thing High Line strollers see when they pass 11th Avenue is the Mobil gas station at the corner of 30th Street. But this unassuming property is part of an assemblage that fronts block-through on the avenue and stretches more than 500 feet along 29th Street.
The properties are currently under a zoning that severely limits their bulk, but should the city upzone the block to allow for the same kind of density enjoyed on the east side of 11th, the combined lots could offer more than 600,000 square feet of buildable space.
The assemblage is either owned or managed by Eight Points Asset Management, a company that oversees real estate investments for institutions and high net-worth families. Eight Points did not return calls for comment.
The gas station, which has been a tenant since 1971, has a lease running through September 2016 with no option to extend.
