The Madison Square Park is seeing a lot of renewed action on stalled or foreclosed projects. A luxury residential developer plans to build a new condo using the edgy design of a hotel project promoted by Horizen Global, a small real-estate company. The project was foreclosed by the banks as the permission took too long to come through and the markets collapsed in the meantime. The site offers potential for a 93,000-square-foot building. It is an up and coming area with a cluster of hip hotels like Eataly, Shake Shack and others taking shape in the recent years.
The design for the proposed hotel on the site was made by local architect Carlos Zapata who had planned a billowing glass hotel. Zapata has already designed the Cooper Square Hotel downtown. The design was stuck for permission since September 2006. Located in the 28-block Ladies’ Mile Historic District the building did not find approval of the community board as it felt the design would destroy the continuity of the elegant historic street wall. The planning commission approved the permit finally but it was 2009 and banks started the foreclosure and ultimately took over the property.
After being in limbo for years the property has now been sold without any of the negatives of the previous development project. And now Anbau plans to build a 22-story tower with about 38 luxury condos. They have adapted Zapata’s distinctive design to the new project. Stephen Glascock, president of Anbau Enterprises thinks the unique design will be a great addition to the other towers in the Flatiron District. Modifications to the original design have come through and now the extension of the original permit has to be granted. The area around Madison Square Park has become a prominent target for developers looking to snap up stalled projects.
Via: online.wsj
