THE former Copacabana site at the southeast corner of 34th Street and Eleventh Avenue is morphing into an approximately 1.5 million-square-foot skyscraper that could become the home of the World Product Centre, a showroom that will feature the latest in high-tech medical equipment.
WPC is the brainchild of Israel Green, who has just signed a letter of intent with Gary Barnett for a “full 1 million square feet,” which will be about 70 percent of this new Extell Development project.
The 45- to 50-story building is being designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox with WPC innards by FXFowle Architects.
Green is still evaluating the costs of environmentally friendly construction but laughed, “It will make me happier because my name is Green.”
Already, Green has $100 million from Hewlett-Packard to install the latest devices into what will become a sales and educational center for diagnostics, equipment and supporting systems tied to the medical field.
John Powers of CB Richard Ellis worked with Green on finding a location but didn’t return a call for comment.
The WPC Web site has to be updated. It still shows the FXFowle-designed SJP Properties office tower at 11 Times Square as its future home.
Green explained that L-shaped building didn’t work for his needs. The new one would be ready in 2012.
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The approximately 560,000 foot 14 Penn Plaza at 225 W. 34th St. has been put into contract for $350 million to Circle Properties, which is also involved in the ownership of 445 Park Ave., and sister companies Dakota Realty and Balmer Parc.
The property is being sold by Andrew S. Borrok and Charles R. Borrok through Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group investment team of Jon Caplan, Scott Latham, Richard Baxter and Ron Cohen.
The purchaser was advised by Wells Hill Partners and Dakota Realty.
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Douglas Durst walked us through his pet project at One Bryant Park, which is topped out and awaiting its signature spire.
Durst will be moving the company offices to the 48th and 49th floors, while Bank of America will hold the lower 36 along with the new 1,050-seat Henry Miller Theater and Aureole restaurant.
Among its greenest and coolest features: unused space around and under the elevators is being used for runoff storage, which, along with flushless urinals, will save 10 million gallons of water per year.
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Joel Weiner and the Pinnacle Group are going upscale. They just spent $75 million on the luxury rental Hudson Park at 323 W. 96th St. between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive.
The 172-unit project was developed on a leasehold and sold by Shaya Boymelgreen.
Aaron Jungreis and David Berger of GFI Realty marketed the building but had no comment.
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The building housing Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ Daddy’s House recording studio is getting sold to Jersey-based Kushner Cos. for $87.5 million.
The Times Square area office building at 321 W. 44th St. will be upgraded, said principal Jared Kushner, publisher of the New York Observer.
James Murphy of GVA Williams marketed the property for Joseph Sitt‘s Thor Equities.
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After a four-year legal battle, two West Side buildings now under redevelopment are remaining with their current developers.
Lawyer Y. David Scharf of Morrison Cohen said his clients, architect Cary Tamarkin and Oaktree Capital, teamed up with an option-holding tenant to buy 397 W. 12th St.
But competitors claimed they were paying more for the building in a package deal with 456 W. 19th St. During litigation, papers revealed the price was jacked up on the 12th Street location in return for a discount on the 19th Street location.
Scharf said his clients were entitled to the package or a reduction for 12th Street and eventually they paid $24 million to the 94-year-old seller to close on both while litigation proceeded.
The other buyers have now missed remaining appeal dates, leaving Tamarkin and Oaktree’s successor, Westport Capital, to carry on with the luxury residential projects. [email protected]
