Posted Oct 16, 2013, 12:35 PM
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New Yorker for life
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Borough of Jersey
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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/ny...=nyregion&_r=0
Developers End Fight Blocking 2 More Luxury Towers in Midtown
By CHARLES V BAGLI
October 15, 2013
Quote:
Mr. Barnett plans to erect a tower of at least 1,400 feet on 57th Street, just east of Broadway. Directly to the north, Mr. Roth, chairman of Vornado Realty, will proceed with a 65-story (roughly 900-feet-tall) residential tower. Under their accord, Mr. Roth shifted the site of his building slightly to the west, while Mr. Barnett edged his eastward, so that both skyscrapers could capitalize on what may be their most lucrative features: Central Park views.
“That’s the money shot,” Mr. Barnett said.
.....It is the lure of enormous profits in a fast-paced residential market that eventually led Mr. Barnett and Mr. Roth to end their bitter dispute.
In June 2005, Mr. Barnett bought the first of a number of parcels for a high-rise project between 57th and 58th Streets, near Broadway.
Two months later, Mr. Roth of Vornado bought a rental building at 220 Central Park South whose lot extended to 58th Street.
Fearing that the Vornado tower would block the views of his planned tower, Mr. Barnett sought a bargaining chip by quickly buying the lease from the garage operator at 220 Central Park South and a small parcel on 58th Street that sat in the middle of Mr. Roth’s planned development site.
Over the ensuing years, Mr. Roth bought out all of the tenants in the building’s rent-regulated units and fought unsuccessfully in court with Mr. Barnett, whose lease on the garage will eventually expire. Each had something the other wanted.
Several months ago, the two sides began negotiating a deal from which they could both profit. On Tuesday, Vornado said that it had paid $194 million for Mr. Barnett’s parcel on 58th Street and additional development rights that would allow it to build an even taller tower.
With the two developers shifting their towers in opposite directions, Mr. Barnett will go forward with his second ultraluxury building on 57th Street, at 225 West 57th. But he still has one more deal to complete.
Several years ago, he agreed to pay his 57th Street neighbor, the Art Students League, $23.5 million for its unused development rights. Mr. Barnett is now offering to pay the league another $25 million for the rights to cantilever his tower over its four-story building.
The cantilever would ensure that more of the apartments in Mr. Barnett’s building would have clear views of Central Park. If the league turns down his offer, Mr. Barnett said he would raise the height of the tower to 1,500 feet, from 1,400 feet.
Speaking of the deal announced on Tuesday, he said, “This clears the way for the development of two great buildings that will enhance the skyline and contribute greatly to the economy of New York City.”
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