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For years, Extell Development’s plans for the west side of First Avenue between 85th and 86th streets had to work around a single building in the middle of the block. Now the developer owns it.
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Gary Barnett’s Extell paid $27.9 million in cash for 1645 First Avenue, buying it from Jay and Stuart Podolsky. The deal closed November 3, and the deed was recorded with the city on Tuesday, Crain’s New York Business reported.The four-story walk-up was built in 1910 and has 36 units, according to city property data. Extell spent years buying and demolishing the low-rise buildings around it, and by 2022, all but two of the block’s buildings were gone.
Back in 2021, we reported that Extell owned nearly the entire block, but the Podolskys didn’t appear eager to give up their property. The Real Deal reported at the time that Extell had been assembling the site since 2014, with the Podolsky building in the middle of it. Barnett told Crain’s that he made several offers over the years and the Podolskys turned down every one, partly because they wanted to keep the building as affordable housing.
That November, Extell filed plans for a 22-story building with 543 apartments at 1637 First Avenue. The plans showed the tower cut out in two places: one at mid-block for the Podolsky building and one at the corner of 86th Street.
The corner holdout was Greg Marshall, a rent-stabilized tenant at 1651 First Avenue who fought Extell’s efforts to end his lease. In 2022, the state’s Appellate Division ruled that Extell could decline to renew it. Department of Buildings records from early October show that 1651 First Avenue is being prepped for demolition.
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Now that it owns 1645, Extell will likely build a slightly larger project with a different layout, Barnett told Crain’s, but the firm doesn’t have concrete plans yet. Extell has filed to demolish the Podolsky building but hasn’t yet filed plans for a new building there, Crain’s reported.“An assemblage is like fine wine for Extell,” Barnett told Crain’s. “We take our time with it, and it gets better.”
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