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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...351518006.html

For Developer, 3 Could Be Charm




Site of the potential condo tower


By ELIOT BROWN
May 21, 2013

Ian Bruce Eichner, a developer whose high-profile problems became symbols of the last two real-estate busts, is in final stages of a deal to buy a condominium development site near Manhattan's Flatiron Building.

Looking to mount his latest comeback, Mr. Eichner is preparing to spend more than $100 million to buy the site as well as air rights that would enable him to build a nearly 800-foot tower with more than 90 units, according to real-estate executives briefed on the project. The slim, glass condo tower he is planning, designed by architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, would be the tallest building between the Empire State Building and downtown.

Similar to many developers moving ahead with new condo projects recently, Mr. Eichner is targeting the upper end of the market, real-estate executives said. Similar to others, he has been emboldened by the high prices that are being fetched these days—more than $3,000 a square foot in Greenwich Village and more than $5,000 a square foot for some units by Central Park.

A spokesman for Mr. Eichner declined to comment. He is hoping to complete the purchase of the site and air rights in the next few weeks, the executives said. The site is owned by One Hand Realty LLC, while the air rights are from a variety of properties nearby. One Hand couldn't be reached for comment.

The tower, on East 22nd St. between Broadway and Park Avenue South, would be only 50 feet wide at the base but would expand like a slender champagne flute and be wider at the top, a rendering reviewed by The Wall Street Journal shows.

To move forward on the condo tower, Mr. Eichner would need to line up financing and close on the purchase of the site.