A Brooklyn-based real estate developer is planning to construct a pair of high-rise buildings on a major Upper East Side corner.
Chess Builders recently acquired 355 East 86th Street (at First Avenue) for $50 million, Crain’s New York Business reports. The developer purchased the property from Extell Development, according to a recent deed, and seemed to have had plans to replace the current structure, which is a four-story walkup apartment, with a new 12,000-square foot, 23-story development made up of 99 residential apartments and retail space on the ground floor.
Free Upper East Side News, Delivered To Your Inbox
Advertisement
However, Cheskel Schwimmer, the developer behind Chess Builders, told Crain’s on Friday that he expects the project to actually be composed of “twin buildings,” both of which will be 23 stories, that comprise a total of 198 rental apartments. The two buildings are expected to have amenities such as bike parking and a gym, as well as a “shared recreation area” spanning across roughly 140,000 feet of residential space. Additionally, the twin buildings would include retail space on the ground floors.
Extell had owned the Upper East Side development since 2021, after it acquired it from Bremen House Inc. for $14.5 million, according to the New York Business Journal.
While Chess Builders primarily operates out of its native Brooklyn, the firm also announced it was developing a 188-unit building in Hell’s Kitchen last year.
Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
Overpay for the lot and then build an eyesore, not the first people to have the idea.
More “upscale” for 86th St?
on the other hand, if these will rent to people who actually use the subway, we can hope they go to 2nd Ave and not the under-developed hub station at Lexington Ave!