New York property company Tishman Speyer has continued its acquisition of land parcels on Manhattan’s Hudson Yards development site by buying an adjacent plot that could that could see it constructing of one of the tallest buildings in the world.
While the developer refused to confirm the amount it paid for its latest collection of plots, Sherwood Equities issued a press release stating it had sold multiple parcels to the firm for $200m (£118.4m). The investment builder had acquired the land in the late 1980s for just $8.1m (£4.7m).
“We remain exceedingly bullish about Manhattan’s West Side, and especially the future of Hudson Yards, but large-scale office development is not part of our core business,” said Sherwood president Jeffrey Katz.
In a separate $238m (£141m) deal Tishman Speyer has taken over the Hudson Yards “Spire” project from the Rosenthal family in an all cash sale. Marketed by Massey Knakal the site, which runs for an entire Tenth Avenue block, has already been earmarked for the tallest building in the United States, surpassing One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, and the third tallest in the world.
Tishman Speyer — which has developed 360 projects totalling 129m sq ft of office space in its 36 year history — has been on the Hudson Yards acquisition trail for some time. The former rail yard redevelopment project is a joint venture between New York City Department of Planning and the city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its buying spree now offers Tishman Speyer the opportunity to go ahead with a 2.85m sq ft office tower at the site.
No details are available yet on its specific plans, but Massey Knakal has confirmed the site could eventually be home to a skyscraper.
“Tishman Speyer has for decades been one of the world’s most active ground-up developers and investors, with projects currently being constructed or in the pipeline on four continents,” said a post-sale press release. “We are very bullish on New York City and Hudson Yards, and found this to be the perfect time to participate in establishing Hudson Yards as the world’s next great commercial district and neighbourhood.”
The Hudson Yards development will deliver a total 26m sq ft of office space, 20,000 units of new housing, seven levels of retail space and three-million sq ft of hotel and leisure development. “In the years ahead, the Hudson Yards district is sure to be the most dynamic neighbourhood in the city.” said Robert Knakal Massey Knakal’s chairman.
The largest Yards development so far underway is a 28-acre, $15bn (£8.8bn) project by Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group that will eventually provide retail, residential and office space, a hotel, a public school, parks and cultural offerings. And in January, Time Warner agreed to relocate its corporate headquarters to 30 Hudson Yards, a 2.6m sq ft, 80-storey skyscraper due for completion early 2019.
