A Midtown parking lot owned by the same family since around the Civil War just sold for nearly $21 million in the latest sign that demand for development sites is growing.
The buyer, a venture of the Albanese Organization Inc. and the Buccini/Pollin Group Inc., plans to build a hotel with about 300 rooms on the West 37th Street site near Times Square. Construction could start later this year.
The market for city development sites, which took a nosedive immediately after the recession hit, has begun to climb in the past year. There have been 19 deals valued at a total of $402 million in the first half of 2011, compared with 24 deals valued at $668 million for all of 2010, according to Massey Knakal Realty Services.
David Schechtman, the Eastern Consolidated principal who brokered the parking-lot sale, said demand for the parcel "nearly evaporated" when the market hit bottom. He estimated its value at one point was only about $10 million.
The hotel market has been particularly alluring for developers lately as tourism and business travel have increased. June\'s revenue per available room, the industry\'s profit metric, topped $240, up from $225 a year ago and $205 in mid-2005, according to lodging research firm STR.
But the rise in demand for development sites still falls far short of the peak year of 2006 when there were 121 deals, according to Massey Knakal. Also, it\'s not clear how demand will be affected by the latest turmoil in the global capital markets and growing fears of a double-dip recession.
Long Island-based Albanese has developed residential towers around Battery Park City, including the Solaire in 2003 and the Visionaire in 2008. Albanese declined to comment. The project marks a New York first for Buccini/Pollin, a firm that owns and operates hotels and retail space in the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions.
The 100-foot-by-100-foot lot was purchased by a member of the Wenner family for an undisclosed price back around the Civil War, Mr. Schechtman said. The site was used to house horses and, years later, was home to the Wenner family\'s embalming business. Around 1945, the Larkin family purchased a stake in the property, which was later converted into a parking lot.
Mr. Schechtman said he recently sold another parking lot on West 23rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, for $19.6 million. A lot on West 48th Street is under contract for about $24 million.
Write to Dawn Wotapka at dawn.wotapka@dowjones.com |
