NEW YORK CITY—Eastern Consolidated has arranged the sale of a three-lot land assemblage in the Rockefeller Center area for $47 million. Targeted for a residential condo tower, the transaction price breaks down to $522 per buildable square foot.
HID Acquisition Group, affiliated with Hidrock Realty Inc., acquired the assemblage—located between Madison Avenue and Fifth avenues—from East 47th Street LLC (City Centre Properties). Eastern was the exclusive agent for the seller, and acted as the sole intermediary in the transaction.
The assemblage consists of three 25-foot-wide lots: 12 E. 48th St.; 14 E. 48th St.; and 13 E/. 47th St. The lots all include existing office buildings, which were delivered vacant and will be demolished. In total, the assemblage allows for 75,300 residential buildable square feet as of right, and a total buildable residential envelope of approximately 90,000 square feet if the development is in compliance with the “recreation facility” bonus in this zoning district.
HID Acquisition plans to raze the existing structures and develop a residential tower of approximately 31 stories on the 50-foot wide entrance on East 48th street. The project will include a mix of studio-, one- and two-bedroom apartments, and amenities, specifically targeting the international pied-a-terre market.
The seller's original concept for the assemblage was for a limited service hotel. But as market conditions deteriorated in 2009, this site—like so many others at the time—fell into financial trouble. A complicated workout between the seller and its lender lasted for several years, with Eastern finally able to undertake a quiet and focused marketing campaign among residential and hospitality developers. The residential developers proved to be more aggressive and pushed the final price above $500 per square foot.
“We undertook a focused marketing process at the behest of the seller and ultimately identified a developer with excellent qualifications and the right vision for the property,” says R. Stuart Gross, executive managing director and principal with Eastern Consolidated, who represented both the buyer and seller.
Eastern Consolidated financial services director Chris Matousek, who assisted with the sale, also notes that the land assemblage sits in a challenging zoning district, and demanded a creative floor plate all the way to the penthouse. “Reconciling this issue helped unlock the transaction,” he says.
Attorney Morris Missry of Wachtel Missry LLP, was the attorney for the buyer in the new land assemblage transaction. Peter G. Koffler, of Venable LLP, was the attorney for the seller.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
