HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Global Projects & Construction > Skyscraper & Highrise Construction


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #1  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2014, 11:24 PM
chris08876's Avatar
chris08876 chris08876 is online now
NYC/NJ/Miami-Dade
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Riverview Estates Fairway (PA)
Posts: 45,674
Smile NEW YORK | 76 11th Avenue | 403 + 302 FT | 34 + 25 FLOORS

Ziel Feldman’s HFZ in contract to buy huge W. Chelsea site



Quote:
Ziel Feldman’s HFZ Capital Group is in contract to buy one of the most sought-after development sites in West Chelsea, The Real Deal has learned – a transaction worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $650 million.

The block-long property at 518 West 18th Street runs between 17th and 18th Streets from 10th Avenue to the West Side Highway and holds more than 760,000 square feet of development rights, paving the way for Feldman to construct one of the largest buildings in the neighborhood.

The sellers were Edison Properties and its equity partners. The deal works out to somewhere between $600 million and $700 million, a source said. “Our partners have encouraged us to capitalize on the foresight our chairman had over 30 years ago, and we agreed,” an Edison insider said. “We expect that Ziel will now build one of the most iconic buildings on New York’s skyline.”

CBRE’s Darcy Stacom brokered the transaction. Neither Feldman nor Stacom could be immediately reached for comment. The property, which for years was operated as a parking lot, sits like a fallow gold mine amid the neighborhood’s real estate riches. Edison, the New Jersey-based landlord that owns ancillary companies such as Edison Park Fast and Manhattan Mini Storage, has controlled the site since 1983 when it bought the property from Sol Goldman.

As real estate values in West Chelsea began skyrocketing, many in the development community were itching to take control of this site and others that Edison holds in the area, including a parking lot at the southeast corner of 20th Street and 10th Avenue. Feldman had offered to buy that property around two years ago when he was buying land to develop his 10-story condo building at 505 West 19th Street, sources said, but was rebuffed by Edison, which still operates it as a parking lot amid a growing forest of luxury developments. Feldman’s new site allows for hotel, office and residential uses.

He could construct a residential building larger than the 710-unit AVA Highline several blocks to the north, or a commercial building roughly four times the size of Barry Diller’s Frank Gehry-designed IAC Building next door.
========================
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/11/....alOE0K7B.dpuf
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2014, 3:11 AM
chris08876's Avatar
chris08876 chris08876 is online now
NYC/NJ/Miami-Dade
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Riverview Estates Fairway (PA)
Posts: 45,674
To give an idea of the potential, this is the AVA Highline:


http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/p...5.01.photo.jpg

Being larger then this is pretty big for the neighborhood. Might be larger as a whole if they decide to go commercial, especially if its Class-A space, but if its residential, eclipsing the AVA will stun a couple of residents.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #3  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2014, 2:15 PM
Eidolon's Avatar
Eidolon Eidolon is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 697
Any height limits in the area? While I'm not expecting anything taller than 700 feet to go up in Chelsea even in my wildest dreams, would it be reasonable to expect something in the 500ft range?
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #4  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2014, 4:54 PM
chris08876's Avatar
chris08876 chris08876 is online now
NYC/NJ/Miami-Dade
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Riverview Estates Fairway (PA)
Posts: 45,674
That could be seen as reasonable. I'm thinking something in the 500 foot range. It is a large site, so I'm curious on how they are going to use the development rights. Could be tall, or it could be bulky and wide; similar to the AVA highline.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5  
Old Posted Nov 29, 2014, 6:18 AM
Crawford Crawford is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Brooklyn, NYC/Polanco, DF
Posts: 30,497
HFZ paid over $800 million for the site, which may be the highest price ever paid for a residential development site anywhere.

And they promised something iconic and architecturally significant, so I have very high expectations for the site. With the amount they paid, they will definitely shoot for a superluxury tower.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #6  
Old Posted Nov 29, 2014, 9:55 PM
sparkling's Avatar
sparkling sparkling is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 765
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford View Post
HFZ paid over $800 million for the site, which may be the highest price ever paid for a residential development site anywhere.

And they promised something iconic and architecturally significant, so I have very high expectations for the site. With the amount they paid, they will definitely shoot for a superluxury tower.
Do you have a source for the $800 million figure? I thought it was a bit cheaper. Anyhow, looking forward to hearing their plans for the site as the $600- $800 mil price tag is quite stretching it IMO!
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7  
Old Posted Nov 29, 2014, 10:10 PM
chris08876's Avatar
chris08876 chris08876 is online now
NYC/NJ/Miami-Dade
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Riverview Estates Fairway (PA)
Posts: 45,674
Quote:
Originally Posted by sparkling View Post
Do you have a source for the $800 million figure? I thought it was a bit cheaper. Anyhow, looking forward to hearing their plans for the site as the $600- $800 mil price tag is quite stretching it IMO!
Multiple sources put the figure at $650 million. This is indeed one of the largest land purchases in a while in raw dollar value. Sites similar in size of this in the outerborough can go anywhere from 20-100 million depending on the location, but given its Chelsea, thats the price to pay for such a location. Unless another source claims that it was 800 million?

Edit: http://online.wsj.com/articles/new-y...ine-1417042890

Wall Street Journal saids 800 million. Real Deal was off by 20% depending if we go by the lower range but they where somewhat close; well, the insider who told them at least was close. At more than a $1000 a square foot, its about that.

Developer to Pay Over $800 Million for Site Near High Line
Block-Square Property Had Been Slated for Condo Project


Quote:
A Manhattan developer has paid more than $800 million for a huge, long-stalled development site along the High Line Park in West Chelsea, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

Ziel Feldman, the founder and chairman of HFZ Capital Group, signed a contract Wednesday to buy the 76,425-square-foot site. It is a full city block and had long been used as a parking lot between 10th and 11th avenues and 17th and 18th streets.

Mr. Feldman is paying more than $1,000 per square foot. That makes it one of the highest prices paid for a development site in Manhattan—both per square foot and in total.

The site was slated to become an 869-unit condominium under plans submitted to the City Planning Commission in 2005 under the name Highline Towers.

But the project by Edison Properties, a real-estate company that operates many parking sites and storage facilities, stalled during the economic downtown. The site was put on the market earlier this year with Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan of CBRE.

In a statement, Mr. Feldman confirmed that the deal for the entire block had gone into contract, but didn’t mention the price. A spokesman for Mr. Feldman declined to provide further details.

“We plan to develop an architecturally significant project at this iconic site which has unparalleled views and a location far and above any other site in downtown Manhattan,” the Feldman statement said.

[...]

Last edited by chris08876; Nov 29, 2014 at 10:21 PM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #8  
Old Posted Nov 30, 2014, 7:11 AM
Crawford Crawford is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Brooklyn, NYC/Polanco, DF
Posts: 30,497
Quote:
Originally Posted by sparkling View Post
Do you have a source for the $800 million figure? I thought it was a bit cheaper. Anyhow, looking forward to hearing their plans for the site as the $600- $800 mil price tag is quite stretching it IMO!
WSJ reports the sale as "more than $800 million", but it's behind the paywall.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #9  
Old Posted Jan 12, 2015, 10:53 PM
sparkling's Avatar
sparkling sparkling is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 765
Ziel Feldman's HFZ Capital is drafting provisional plans for the Chelsea tower





The design for the West Chelsea site which is currently vacant, will be inspired by One Beacon Court

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, January 12, 2015

Quote:
Big time real estate developer Ziel Feldman wants to bring a little uptown chic to the High Line.

Feldman, whose company HFZ Capital is preparing to close on an $800 million deal to buy a whole square block development site in West Chelsea, said his plans for the property are inspired by One Beacon Court, the mixed-use tower often known as the Bloomberg Building at 151 E. 58th St.

The company is working on a concept for the site that would include a similar driveway-cum-courtyard as the one has become the defining characteristic of the 55-story Midtown tower, which was designed by architect Cesar Pelli and his son Rafael and has served as home to big name residents such as Flavio Briatore and Beyoncé.

The new "architecturally significant" 800,000-square-foot tower, which would occupy the block between 17th and 18th Sts. from 10th Ave. to the West Side Highway and could go as high as 400 feet, would include a retail component on the ground floors, a named brand hotel in the middle and condos up top, Feldman said of his plans, which are still provisional. It would be one of the tallest buildings in the neighborhood.

"We think this is the nicest piece of real estate in the city," Feldman said, noting that the hotel concept would likely be similar to the one that Larry Silverstein employed with the Four Seasons hotel at 30 Park Place in Lower Manhattan.

Feldman is buying the site from longtime owners the Edison family, who operated the site as a parking lot.

The median price for a Chelsea condo is currently more than $4 million, or $2,212 per square foot, according to listings website CityRealty. But if Feldman's tower truly has the same cachet at One Beacon Court, buyers could see prices drift as high as $6,000 a foot, sources said.

A penthouse at the Midtown building is currently on the market for a whopping $82 million.
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-styl...icle-1.2075121
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #10  
Old Posted Feb 10, 2015, 7:28 PM
sparkling's Avatar
sparkling sparkling is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 765
Feldman announcing plans for two buildings at 76 11th avenue

Quote:
*HFZ's Ziel Feldman introduces 76 11th Ave, plans two towers for the High Line, waterfront adjacent property #ymwrea

*Feldman: We're currently interviewing architects for 2, water facing bldgs. Potentially a hotel, plus high end residential, retail
https://twitter.com/commobserver
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #11  
Old Posted Feb 12, 2015, 1:46 PM
NYguy's Avatar
NYguy NYguy is offline
New Yorker for life
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Borough of Jersey
Posts: 51,692
http://nypost.com/2015/02/10/monumen...eventh-avenue/

Monumental developments on the horizon for Eleventh Avenue


By Lois Weiss
February 10, 2015


Quote:
Ziel Feldman has now revealed two designs he is toying with for the upcoming 76 11th Ave. between 17th and 18th streets.

Speaking to the Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association Tuesday in Midtown, he said the address could change also.

It is, of course, contingent on branding and culturally superstitious buyers. The Chinese “love eights,” Feldman noted, while 18 is “Chai” and luck for Jewish folks. (Or he could go the patriotic route with 17/76, but that’s just me.)

Feldman, head of HFZ Capital, is in contract to close in April on his purchase of the full block — a former parking lot — from Edison Properties. The possibly record land price, which Feldman declined to discuss, has been previously reported to be $600 million to $700 million and comes with the right to develop more than 760,000 square feet of residential, retail and hotel space.

The fiscally cautious Feldman, who said “Brooklyn scares us” with land pricing at $400 a foot and lower sales prices, was willing however, to take an even higher-stakes gamble with a dramatic project and higher costs — but that would garner higher sales prices.

That’s because it’s all about location — sandwiched between the High Line and Hudson River, both of which border the site to the east and west respectively (along with Chelsea Piers), while to the north is the iceberg-like low-rise IAC building.

A drone-created video shows long-range views as the prospective project rises to 38 stories and 400 feet — it would be a lost trifle in Midtown.

Feldman has very rough preliminary proposals in-hand for a two-building development from both Rem Koolhaas and Bjarke Ingels
(founder of firm BIG), whose pyramid design for Durst at 12th Avenue and West 57th Street is currently getting some windows.

No one has been hired, and nothing is inked or set in brick for the full block site. Both architects have suggested somewhat triangular structures that won’t block views.

BIG’s is a low building for a hotel and retail and a higher one with more bulk at the top for the tower closest to the water. The project will include a small park while a porte cochere could run between the buildings.

“We have two buildings and need to make sure they don’t face each other,” Feldman added, drawing laughs when he referenced the nearby Standard Hotel as being “built for voyeurism and for having sex in the windows” — and not what he wanted for his project.

He will also be targeting smaller units as he says condominium buyers are worried more about the total costs than the square footage.

As for Mayor de Blasio’s affordable housing push, Feldman said that density and height are “music to my ears,” but “if I have to have more affordable, it has to pencil out.”
__________________
NEW YORK is Back!

“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #12  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2015, 10:24 PM
chris08876's Avatar
chris08876 chris08876 is online now
NYC/NJ/Miami-Dade
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Riverview Estates Fairway (PA)
Posts: 45,674
High Line site developer close to nabbing $500M loan

Quote:
A partnership between landlord SL Green Realty Corp. and JPMorgan Chase is exploring a deal to finance one of the most expensive residential development sites ever purchased in the city.

The firms are in talks to provide a mortgage for HFZ Capital Group’s $870 million acquisition of a large lot near the High Line that can accommodate up to 700,000 square feet of residential and mixed-use development. Sources estimate the loan could be about $500 million.

HFZ reached a deal to buy the site, which encompasses the full block between West 17th and West 18th streets from 11th Avenue to the High Line, late last year for about $1,100 per square foot, making it among the most expensive development parcels ever sold in the city.

SL Green, JPMorgan Chase and HFZ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

HFZ, which has built a number of residential projects in the neighborhood, has spent recent months trying to raise the necessary capital to close on the acquisition. Among the challenges it has faced are growing concerns over whether there is a big enough market of ultra-wealthy buyers for the huge pipeline of exorbitantly priced condos that will be for sale in the coming years.

Last month, HFZ unveiled plans to build a pair of 400-foot-tall condo towers that would feature exclusive amenities like a private driveway for residents. The project could have retail space and a hotel as well. The developer is in the process of arranging several mezzanine loans to complete that purchase, sources say.

Earlier this month, HFZ completed another large deal, buying the residential portion of the Belnord for $575 million from Extell Development.

In addition to being one of the city’s largest commercial landlords, SL Green has operated a busy lending business. It provided a portion of the loan for real estate investor Joe Chetrit’s acquisition of the Sony Building on Madison Avenue for $1.1 billion two years ago. Mr. Chetrit is planning to convert that office property into high-end condos and a hotel, including a penthouse unit asking a record $150 million.
=============================
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...bing-500m-loan
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #13  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2015, 10:25 PM
chris08876's Avatar
chris08876 chris08876 is online now
NYC/NJ/Miami-Dade
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Riverview Estates Fairway (PA)
Posts: 45,674
NEW YORK | 518 West 18th Street | 400 + 300 FT | 2 x 38 FLOORS

Last edited by chris08876; Mar 26, 2015 at 1:31 AM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #14  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2015, 1:27 AM
chris08876's Avatar
chris08876 chris08876 is online now
NYC/NJ/Miami-Dade
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Riverview Estates Fairway (PA)
Posts: 45,674
Ziel Feldman and His Construction Binge Starts With a Pair of High Line Projects

Quote:
Commercial Observer: This is for our Midtown South issue, so let’s start with what you’re doing there. When are you closing on 518 West 18th Street, which spans West 17th to West 18th Streets and from 10th Avenue to the West Side Highway?


Mr. Feldman: We signed the contract in November of last year. We’re closing in April.

What’s the sale price?

It hasn’t been disclosed and I can’t [tell you] until after the closing.

What address will you use for it?

76 11th Avenue or you know, 18 is a good number, generally, but I’m not sure yet.

What’s going on there?

We’ll have a garage, we’ll have retail, potentially a hotel, restaurants, galleries. We’ll have a beautiful [public] park in front. One building is 400 feet high and one is 300 feet high. The blocks stagger between 80 feet high and 220 feet high. This was a special permit done by the seller [Edison Properties and its equity partners]—in return for giving a park to the city of New York. I think the footprint here is probably about [10,000] to 12,000 feet. And there’s a great entry into our buildings and our hotel through the park. You are going to enter [the building] from the side. All the retail will be [on the side]. This park will definitely have access to the High Line. Maybe we potentially build retail beneath the park. We were very busy between 2009 and 2014. We didn’t buy anything in 2014 until this site came along.

Why not?

Because we found things to be mispriced—a lot of aggressive underwriting.

What was the asking price?

There wasn’t an asking price. They whispered a certain number. At one point there were offers higher than ours. We just convinced them that we’d be the best buyers. There’s nothing to compare.

And how big will the retail component be?

Probably will have as much as 60,000 feet, generally. Whether or not we have [additional] retail [on 12th Avenue] as well, we did not include that because we’re not sure. Twelfth Avenue is a big retail corridor, so this may have townhomes, but it’s really a work in progress.

Who’s the architect?

BIG is our design architect. We are going to team [BIG head Bjarke Ingels] up with some others but we have not decided yet who. So we’ll have an interior design architect [and] an executive architect.

Where will the hotel component be?

If we have a self-standing hotel this would be the east building—maybe with residential above. Whatever hotel it is, it will service and brand the entire project.

Have you selected the hotel brand yet?

We’re talking to many. [It will be] four, five stars. This location is very young—couples, kind of hip. It’s increasingly wealthy. So I’m not sure that most of the five-star brands like the Four Seasons are appropriate for this location. A lot of the plans are still in flux.

If you look here [he points to an early project model], you’ll see both buildings are being designed, even as it changes, so that they’re not blocking each other. So the view of the water is unencumbered. See that gap? We have an office component on one or two floors because there is some demand for 100,000 feet maybe of office in the base.

Of the main building?

Maybe of both buildings and stretching over a bridge of sorts.

You’re responding to a demand for 100,000-square-foot floor plates then?
Well, this area has become a huge demand for office. Google keeps expanding.

Are you trying to get Google in here?

They were one of the bidders on the property. We’ll talk to them more closely.

Why did you want that particular site?

Well we’re building a block away, right at 505 West 19th Street, so we know the area really well. [The 11th Avenue site] allows you to build 850,000 feet. You’re on the water and you’re on the High Line. But the best part about it is it’s going to be the highest building allowed in all of the High Line. The property is what they call shovel ready; it’s all been remediated. It’s the cleanest site we’ve ever been involved with from a construction standpoint
===================================
http://commercialobserver.com/2015/0...line-projects/
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #15  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2015, 1:46 AM
mrnyc mrnyc is offline
cle/west village/shaolin
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,530
looks like the new owners will be going for something zippier and more mixed use than than the robert a.m. stern plan from a few years back.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #16  
Old Posted May 7, 2015, 7:55 PM
sparkling's Avatar
sparkling sparkling is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 765
HFZ secures $1B in financing for High Line site

Deal allows the firm to close on one of the city’s priciest development acquisitions

May 07, 2015
Konrad Putzier

Quote:
Ziel Feldman’s HFZ Capital Group has closed on more than $1 billion in financing for its High Line development site, according to sources involved in the transaction.

The financing will cover the $870 million purchase price for 518 West 18th Street, as well as other pre-development expenses. A group including BlackRock and SL Green provided the money.

Howard Michaels’ Carlton Group represented HFZ in the transaction. Michaels couldn’t be reached for comment. According to sources, 70 percent of the financing package is a loan and the rest equity.

HFZ reached an agreement to buy the site, located between 11th Avenue and the High Line, last year. The financing will now allow the developer to close on one of the most expensive development acquisitions ever recorded in New York, at $1,100 per square foot.


From left: HFZ’s Ziel Feldman, 518 West 18th Street , and Carlton’s Howard Michaels
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #17  
Old Posted May 8, 2015, 4:59 PM
sparkling's Avatar
sparkling sparkling is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 765
HFZ Moves Forward With Pricey High Line Condo Project

Friday, May 8, 2015
Jessica Dailey

Quote:
It's pretty much a given with any development site in West Chelsea that expensive condos will rise, but that is surely a definite for HFZ's block-large property bound by 17th and 18th streets and Tenth and Eleventh avenues. The Real Deal reports that the developer secured a whopping $1 billion in financing for the development. Of that, $870 million was spent on actually purchasing the site, which is significantly higher than the $600 million to $700 million he was expected to spend. It works out to about $1,100 per square foot, so that makes the site "one of the most expensive development acquisitions ever recorded in New York," according to the Real Deal. As such, you can be certain that the forthcoming condos will be pretty pricey.

HFZ's Ziel Feldman previously said that he plans to build two buildings on the site, and the condos will be smaller than many other new developments because "buyers are worried more about the total costs than the square footage." So... the units will be small and supremely expensive?

The larger building would rise about 38 stories, and a smaller building would hold a hotel and retail. There would also be a small park. Bjarke Ingels and Rem Koolhaas both reportedly designed preliminary proposals for the site, but HFZ has not confirmed an architect or revealed any renderings.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #18  
Old Posted May 8, 2015, 9:00 PM
chris08876's Avatar
chris08876 chris08876 is online now
NYC/NJ/Miami-Dade
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Riverview Estates Fairway (PA)
Posts: 45,674
The record will be broken in time due. This cycle, in the last 5 years, has broken so many sq-ft/$ barriers that its unprecedented.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #19  
Old Posted May 21, 2015, 1:12 PM
sparkling's Avatar
sparkling sparkling is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 765
Ziel Feldman on the High Line, Billionaires’ Row, and bucking trends: VIDEO
"Now, every Uber driver is a developer," HFZ chief says at TRD forum

May 21, 2015

Quote:
In an interview during The Real Deal New Development Showcase & Forum, Ziel Feldman, founder and CEO of HFZ Capital Group, discussed his High Line megaproject, the concept of “affordable luxury” and the lack of opportunities on Billionaires’ Row.

Feldman told TRD Managing Web Editor Hiten Samtani that his cost of construction at the block-long site at 518 West 18th Street would be far less than that of projects of similar size. The project, which is being designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, consists of two condominium buildings – which will rise 400 feet and 300 feet respectively — with significant retail space.

Feldman also spoke about the lack of sensible opportunities on Billionaires’ Row, where developers such as Vornado Realty Trust and Extell Development are pushing prices to record highs.

“Unless you own something there currently, there is no opportunity to purchase anything on that corridor,” he said. - See more at: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/05/....Mov6Oksu.dpuf

Video Link
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20  
Old Posted May 21, 2015, 7:26 PM
sparkling's Avatar
sparkling sparkling is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 765
With so many super-tall towers rising, this developer will build smaller to recoup his $870M

Bloomberg News
May 21, 2015

Quote:
Ziel Feldman's HFZ Capital Group just bought one of the most expensive development sites ever sold in Manhattan. He won't be building the city's priciest condos there.

"I don't want to be hostage to a $10-to-$20 million condo market," Mr. Feldman said in an interview. "I don't want to be in that market a year or two from now."

HFZ paid $870 million for a full square block in Chelsea, nestled between the High Line elevated park and 11th Avenue and beside Barry Diller's IAC/InterActive Corp. headquarters. The deal, completed May 7, was the most expensive New York City lot sale since a partnership including Extell Development Co. paid $919 million for a much larger site on the Upper West Side almost a decade ago, according to Real Capital Analytics Inc.

To recoup his investment, Mr. Feldman plans to build smaller than the competition, figuring that the market has more than enough choices for the ultra-wealthy. The project, still under design by architect Bjarke Ingels Group, will have two buildings of about 28 and 38 stories, respectively. Apartments will average 1,500 to 2,000 square feet.

That's roughly half the size of new luxury condos that have sold in Manhattan since 2013, data from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. show. Developers since the credit crisis have focused on building ever-larger apartments in an appeal to multimillionaire buyers seeking havens for cash.

The price per square foot at the Chelsea site will probably range from $3,750 to $4,000, Mr. Feldman said. That's in line with the average for new luxury condos that traded in the first quarter, according to Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel and a Bloomberg View contributor.

"It's still high-end luxury," Mr. Miller said. "The price per foot is consistent with what's already being constructed. The only difference is that the units are smaller."

'Pricing well'

Condos at Mr. Feldman's project, at 501 W. 17th St., will start at less than $4 million, he said.

"If you're pricing well, your audience is much greater," he said. "We want to be able to deliver a product that people will hopefully wait in line for."

Prices for newly built Manhattan apartments have been climbing rapidly as developers try to profit in the face of escalating land costs. New condos will sell this year for an average of $5.9 million, up from $4.8 million in 2014, according to estimates by CityRealty.

The value of all new apartments sold last year totaled $4.1 billion, a 52% jump from 2013, even though the two years had about the same number of purchases, the data firm said.

HFZ's West Chelsea development may have as many as 300 apartments, most with two or three bedrooms, according to Mr. Feldman. One-bedroom units will probably be smaller than 1,500 square feet and can be combined by buyers to make larger homes, he said.

Restaurant, concierge

While he paid a high price for the land, Mr. Feldman estimates he'll spend less by building towers that don't aspire to touch the clouds. While skyscrapers of 60 to 70 stories cost about $1,200 to $1,300 a square foot to build, "the costs are half that" for his project, Mr. Feldman said.

"You don't need the height because you're already on the water, you're already on the High Line," he said.

Mr. Feldman envisions a "self-contained kind of city" with a courtyard where cars can drop off residents, and amenities such as a restaurant and fitness center. He might add a hotel in the smaller building if he can find a brand that would boost the project's cachet. Even without one, residents would enjoy hotel- type services such as concierge and housekeeping, he said.

Public park

As part of a deal allowing him to build up to 400 feet, Mr. Feldman is also building a public park at the site that may include a new entrance to the High Line. The park would adjoin retail shops at the base of his buildings.

Ingels was chosen for the project because of his "iconic, extraordinarily creative and somewhat complex" designs, such as the pyramid-shaped apartment building under construction on 57th Street near the West Side Highway, Mr. Feldman said. "He's extraordinarily brilliant, easy to work with."

The Chelsea development—expected to be ready in 2018, with sales starting early next year—will veer from a crowded field of ultra-luxury offerings in midtown that are due to be completed around the same time.

Properties now under construction include architect Jean Nouvel's 82-story tower adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art, with a duplex penthouse seeking more than $70 million, and Zeckendorf Development's 520 Park Ave., where asking prices start at $16.2 million and jump to $130 million for a 12,000- square-foot triplex.

"The stars are aligned to have the best building in the best location where you don't have to write a check north of $10 million," Mr. Feldman said.
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Global Projects & Construction > Skyscraper & Highrise Construction
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 9:57 AM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.