(Save the date: RealShare New York comes to the Grand Hyatt, New York, NY, October 9.)

NEW YORK CITY-Rockrose Development Corp., the developers known for the redevelopment of the Long Island City waterfront, are embarking on the final frontier in Manhattan: the Far West Side. The company has purchased a 19,475-square-foot parcel at 528-534 W. 39^th St. between 10^th and 11^th Avenues – making it the last piece in the company’s assemblage in Hudson Yards.

As part of the deal, the company has the ability to build a luxury high-rise apartment building on the land, as well as an additional one million square feet of commercial development rights – which could pave the way for a new convention center hotel down the line, according to Patricia Dunphy, senior vice president at Rockrose.

“We have the whole block now,” she tells GlobeSt.com, noting that the site – previously owned by Mercedes Benz as warehouse space – is adjacent to the planned Hudson Yards Park and Boulevard and is also adjacent to another Rockrose-owned parcel. Now, the company has a combined land area of approximately 75,000 square feet and has total available development rights of 1.4 million square feet.

However, she says the decision to create a new multifamily property or hotel will depend on future market conditions, as well as the state’s decision to overhaul the Jacob J. Javits Convention Center located across the street. “It is a great site for a convention center hotel and great for residential, but we are very far away from those decisions,” she says. “We have to see what happens with the convention center because it may change. There are so many things in flux at this point, so it’s hard to know which direction we will go in.”

With the land acquisition now completed, Dunphy explains that Rockrose can build the residential as-of-right in one tower and leave the 50,000-square-foot floorplate for future commercial development, but the company is still deciding on what direction to take. 

Justin Elghanayan, president at Rockrose, says in a statement that while market conditions in Midtown West are “very favorable” for the development of luxury high-rise rental buildings, the company is exploring “all development options” for the neighborhood, including office and hotel as well. 

At the same time, the company already has a longstanding legacy of being one of the early pioneers in the neighborhood before the split-up of the family business. Rockrose –which is now is under ownership by H. Henry Elghanayan and his son Justin after Thomas Elghanayan and his brother Fredrick branched off and started their own firm TF Cornerstone in 2009 – purchased several development properties in the area in 2001, four years before the district was rezoned by the New York City Council to encourage commercial development.

The family subsequently developed two of the first residential high-rise buildings in Hudson Yards, including the 394-unit 455 W. 37^th St. and the 835-unit 505 W. 37^th St. Now, both towers are owned/operated by TF Cornerstone following the separation and break-up of the family’s portfolio.

But now, Rockrose is finishing the work they started. “We went here because it is a pioneering neighborhood,” Dunphy says. “It’s one of the last frontiers.”

The purchase price of the final parcel was not disclosed.