http://www.nycondoblog.com/?p=171
A new Extell development at the old Stuart Dean building site
Overview
Extell is underway developing a new residential project on 10th Avenue btw 30th and 31st streets. The filing isn’t new (about a year old) but progress on construction has been quite slow. My guess is that this space is dealing with some operational bumps but should be up sometime during 2009. Before we jump into the details (or what is currently known) let’s talk for a moment about what Extell has been up to since bursting on the New York scene and what other stuff has been going on in this far west neighborhood.
Extell’s past few projects have been a bit confusing. While most of their end products are very impressive, the majority of their land acquisitions are in less established neighborhoods with a higher risk factor. My inclination is that Gary Barnett (President of Extell) has a clear vision which divides him from the similarities of other developers. If you have enough faith in New York City condominium development (such as a willingness to create a blog about it…) you know that Manhattan still has a ways to go in terms of residential development. Barnett has the common sense of buying up plots of land that are less expensive in exchange for potentially earning a larger profit a few years down the road. The monstrous Trump site on the upper west side is a perfect, early example of this Extell practice. Trump was infuriated after the 77 acres were sold for about $1.8 billion because Extell had better intuition about the usage of the space.
Extell also did the Orion recently (a massive condo on west 42nd street) and 2633 Broadway (@ 99th street) which was made famous by a building collapse which occurred while clearing out the space for development.
Units and Pricing
The details of this development aren’t well known. I plan on doing some research here and updating shortly.
Area
Let’s be realistic: this isn’t a plot of land you’d drive by and feel enticed. In fact, its a very baron area, near the Hudson yards, south of the Jacob Javitz center with blocks full of factories and a whole bunch of nothing. The site was previously inhabited by Stuart Dean, a property maintenance and restoration firm, but has been cleared down. Ron Solarz of Eastern Consolidated Properties sold the land for Stuart Dean a couple of years ago. The neighborhood is badly in need of the construction facelift which we’re all waiting for.
The city made some zoning changes a few years back to potentially accommodate a football stadium which would also double as a sports complex which could help boost the chances at NYC making a bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. The stadium and the Olympics are no longer a reality, but Extell still sees potential created by the new zoning. This includes a possible subway expansion and the ability to build very high (great views) and mix in some commercial and some hotel space. I’d say we’re looking at 2010-2012 until this area is anywhere near what Extell would need to sell residential space here for $1,500/foot.