Two Stalled Tower Projects Come Back To Life

Two bankrupt construction projects came back from the dead this week as new owners fast track development along 23rd Street.

    

Edgy Design for New 23rd Street Tower

 

Luxury residential developer Anbau Enterprises plans to build a new 22-story tower on a parking lot at 41 W. 23rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues.

 

Anbau Enterprises paid $18.5 million for the lot near Madison Square Park and plans to use an edgy design left over from the bankrupt hotel project which was originally slated for the site.

 

Before the recession, Horizen Global, a small real-estate company with grand design ambitions, planned a billowing glass hotel by local architect Carlos Zapata, who also designed the Cooper Square Hotel downtown. Like Frank Gehry's 8 Spruce Street and the IAC building in Chelsea, Mr. Zapata's glass curves stand out from the historic neighborhood.

    

The building would be located in the 28-block Ladies' Mile Historic District, and needed approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. In September 2006, Community Board 5 asked the City Planning Commission not to grant the developers the special permit they needed due to the building's size and use, claiming proposed new building would significantly destroy the continuity of the elegant and historic street as well as the aesthetic character of the Ladies' Mile Historic District.

 

The planning commission approved the permit anyway, with modifications. But before Horizen could begin construction in 2009, the bank foreclosed and eventually took back the property. The land has been in foreclosure limbo for years.

 

Mr. Zapata's distinctive design will remain. "We like the design and think it will be a great addition to the other towers in the Flatiron District. In fact, some people refer to it as the 'Tower District,'" said Stephen Glascock, president of Anbau Enterprises. Mr. Glascock is an architect by training and many of the company's previous projects have earned design awards.

 

Before the recession, Anbau developed 110 Central Park South and 136 West 22nd Street. Presently, Anbau is constructing 124 West 23rd Street, a 16-story condo that's been delayed for two years due to the market.

 

The area around Madison Square Park has become a prominent target for developers looking to snap up stalled construction projects such as the troubled condo project at One Madison Park.

  
By Peter Coyne / TheElectricWeb.com
July 26, 2011

 

21-story Apartment Building Planned for Gramercy Park Site

 

Toll Brothers plans to build a 21-story apartment building with ground floor retail on a failed construction site located at the southwest corner of 3rd Avenue at 22nd Street, in Gramercy Park. Construction is estimated to commence in Spring 2012, with sales estimated for Fall 2012.

 

The nation's leading builder of luxury homes, was the winning bidder at bankruptcy auction for the failed condominium project located at 276-280 Third Avenue. Its winning bid was $35.5 million.

  
By Peter Coyne / TheElectricWeb.com
July 26, 2011