Lots Cleared For 1558 Third Avenue, Permits Not

(A Fine, 1558-1560 Third Ave and 180 E 88th)

Across from soon to be open Whole Foods (East 88th and Third Avenue), Three walk-up buildings have been demolished and the "L" Shaped lot is ready for foundation work. Proposed is a 469 foot tall, 31 story building consisting of 151,000sf divided into 44 apartments and common facilities. At an average of 3500sf each these Manhattan McMansions would be perfect customers for the new high end market on the other side of the street. That is, provided that actual human beings move into the apartments, rather than simply being dark apartments that make for convenient homes to overseas money.

There is one sticking point. According to the NYC DOB, the permits, originally filed in August 2014 have yet to be approved. The Development Challenge Process is pending zoning approval and the most recent plan exam was disapproved on January 14th of this year. Perhaps the delay is based on height. The property was marketed for sale with a limit of 365 feet, while the permits call for 469 feet. It is not know whether additional rights were purchased from the corner lot that this development surrounds. With a plan of 15' ceilings, perhaps an easy solution would be to scale them down to a still grand 10' to 11' and it comes within the original height as-of-right.

(The Georgica, similar shape, during construction- A Fine, 2008)

The Touraine (courtesy Curbed.com)

In any case, regardless of the hold-up, the project has very bright prospects. Assuming that any potential lot line follies can be avoided with the corner property (see: The Georgica on 85th and Second Avenue), the development is very well positioned a block from both the Lexington Avenue subway and the future Second Avenue Subway. High end condos in the area, and this is sure to be one of them, have been fetching in the neighborhood of $3000psf with ease. H. Thomas O'Hara is the filing architect, and with recent work like the masterful pre-war reproduction The Touraine in his portfolio, there is hope that the future condo will grace, rather than disgrace the UES skyline.

Related:

1558 Third Ave (Curbed file)
1558 Third Ave (YIMBY file)
1558 Third Ave (TRDNY file)