[chris08876]

The diamond district is a playground for foreign investors and this developer

One of the city's most prolific developers has been collecting parcels in Manhattan's diamond district, perhaps signaling a major new development there.

In December 2015, Gary Barnett's Extell Development, the builder behind the ultraluxury One57 condo tower and One Riverside Park, bought control of 562 and 564 Fifth Ave., between West 46th and 47th streets. In January, Extell filed for demolition permits for six slender buildings next door to Nos. 562 and 564.

The firm owns enough addresses on the east end of the block—including two buildings other than the six slated for demolition and the two recently purchased—that it could build one of the biggest new towers along Fifth Avenue in years. The 10 buildings amount to more than 260,000 existing square feet, with several thousand more in developable air rights.

They are also on a block that has long been the hub of the North American jewelry trade. There are more than 2,600 jewelry-related businesses in the diamond district, according to the area's business improvement district. Most are small, independent vendors. Together, they ensure steady foot traffic to the block and its environs.

The eight buildings clustered contiguously at the corner of West 46th and Fifth run to more than 110,000 square feet combined. The other two buildings are the 78,230-square-foot 2 W. 47th St. and the 71,738-square-foot 10 W. 47th St.

Extell has already built big on the block. It completed its International Gem Tower at 50 W. 47th St. in 2012. It is not yet clear what the purpose of a new Extell project along Fifth Avenue would be—the firm did not respond to requests for comment—but its shopping spree along the block has created one of New York real estate's biggest guessing games.

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http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...alert-20160308