Massey Knakal chairman Robert Knakal tells GlobeSt.com that the firm, which was the only broker on the deal, first represented the Lavin family in a proposed sale of one of the properties, which was vacant at the time. "We had a deal for $25 million that snowballed." Members of the Bernstein family, who had owned the adjoining properties for 60 years, were first persuaded to trade in air rights, he explains. The numbers were so high that the entire site was put on the block.

He notes that there were 37 offers on the site. "It was a year-and-a-half process. It went from $250 per buildable sf to $310 to the current price. The numbers were so compelling." Included in the sale were a six-story commercial office building at 855-857 Ave. of the Americas; three adjacent four-story commercial buildings at 859-865 Ave. of the Americas; a four-story commercial building at 867-873 Ave. of the Americas and a parking lot at 106-108 West 31st St.

The combined buildable sf is approximately 333,740 sf. Of that amount, 247,000 sf lies within a C6-4X or mixed-use zone and 86,740 sf is within an M1-6, or strictly commercial zone. Knakal says interest was high due to the "very flexible" zoning the development rights possess. "It allows for residential, retail, even a hotel."