[Hypothalamus]

Now everyone's gotta have a piece of the the High Line

Crain's New York:

Sale of Chelsea site for $32M could set record

BY JOE ANUTA
MAY 15, 2014 1:15 P.M.

Prolific developer Michael Stern is eyeing the purchase of a development parcel along West 24th Street in West Chelsea, sources told Crain's, for as much as $32 million. That would work out to $800 per buildable square foot, a record sum.

Mr. Stern, who heads JDS Development Group, is looking to possibly snap up 510-514 W. 24th St., located a half-block from the High Line, as part of a joint venture with with Largo Investments. The property is sandwiched between a ten-story condo building by Cary Tamarkin and the Related Cos.' rental building, The Tate. JDS Development did not respond to a request for comment.

Two three-story buildings now stand on the site. Should Mr. Stern pay as much as the rumored $32 million price tag for the site, observers noted the finished development would need to recoup those up-front costs by aggressively pricing the finished apartments. While that could potentially prove a difficult task for residential building in a mid-block location, developers in the area have been banking on the appeal of the High Line.

[...]

Looks like someone was willing to pay more?

The Real Deal:

Harch Group to buy Chelsea loft building for $35M
Price per buildable square foot at West 24th Street building works out to $775

May 16, 2014 03:00PM
By Mark Maurer


From left: 514-518 West 24th Street, Ivan Hakimian and Kevin Esh

Developer Harry Jeremias of the Harch Group is in contract to buy a three-story loft building with 49,288 residential buildable square feet for $35 million in an off-market deal, The Real Deal has learned.

If the deal closes for $775 per buildable square foot, it will be one of the priciest of its kind in Chelsea. A private, out-of-state family affiliated with HDA Corporation LLC owned the property at 514-518 West 24th Street, between 10th and 11th avenues, for more than 30 years, sources said.

Yesterday, a joint venture between JDS Development Group and Largo Investments was said to be considering buying 510-514 West 24th Street, Crain’s had reported. But the building at 514-518 West 24th Street had already entered contract with another buyer, sources told The Real Deal.

Ivan Hakimian, president of HPNY, and his associate Kevin Esh were involved with the deal, sources said.

[...]