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Deal Closed for Property on 71 Laight Street
Before the ink dries on the contract, we’re going to tell you about the next completed development deal to happen in Manhattan. 71 Laight Street, a luxury Manhattan condo in Tribeca, has just been sold to Taconic Investment Partners for a cool $65 million, or around $600 per square foot. The transaction will officially close in May or June.
Alvaro Arranz, a Manhattan developer, currently owns the property, which is an old warehouse that doubles as a parking garage. He initially bought it in 2007 for $57 million. At first he conceived of converting it into a luxury residential building, but after a construction freeze he decided to sell the property instead. He put the site on the market in 2010.
Now that Taconic has purchased the property, it intends to turn it into a condo building that will hold between thirty and forty Manhattan condos for sale. There is one minor snag however; any new construction must be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. This is because the property falls inside the Tribeca West Historic District.
There is however one easy way of getting around that problem; when Arranz was trying to turn the warehouse into a residential building for himself, he hired an architect who conceived of a two-building design that would look identical to the existing warehouse. This design was approved by the Commission Board, so if Taconic chooses to recycle it, it won’t need new permission. That said, if it opts to build something new, it shouldn’t have too much trouble getting the green light. We’re excited to see how this plays out.