China Oceanwide Holdings’ purchase of two adjacent sites will pave the way for a mixed-use development.
A Chinese investment firm announced it has agreed to pay $390 million for a development site near the South Street Seaport, paving the way for the erection of yet another super-tall skyscraper in a city that is quickly sprouting 1,000-foot plus tall towers.
The Beijing-based investment company China Oceanwide Holdings released a statement confirming that a U.S. subsidiary of the firm is in contract to acquire both the site at 80 South St. and a neighboring parcel at 163 Front St. from the Howard Hughes Corp.—the would-be developer of the nearby South Street Seaport.
A roughly 820,000 square foot building, with about 440,000 square feet of residential and 380,000 square feet of commercial space, can be developed on the combined site, which Howard Hughes bought in two separate deals and assembled together over the past year, according to city records.
Chinese real estate investors have increasingly poured money into the city. In late 2013, the Shanghai-based company Fosun, purchased the nearby downtown office building 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza for $725 million, subsequently renaming it 28 Liberty St. Earlier this week it won approval to create retail space it plans to spend $200 million building under the property.
Other Chinese firms have sought to build tall as well. Kaufu Properties reached a deal in recent weeks to buy a development site on East 60th Street that can potentially accommodate a 1,000-foot tall residential tower for more than $300 million, according to reports.
There has been a boom of ultra-tall towers in the city in general. As Crain’s reported August 5, developers Michael Stern and Joe Chetrit have struck a $90 million deal that will allow them to raise a tower in downtown Brooklyn that could be nearly as tall as the Empire State Building. That spire will be the tallest outside of Manhattan and possibly one of the highest in the entire city.
The site at 80 South St. has long been envisioned as a location for a soaring structure. Construction manager and developer Frank Sciame planned a unique-looking tower there designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, but eventually abandoned the complex project. CBRE brokers Darcy Stacom, Bill Shanahan and Paul Leibowitz handled the sale on behalf of the Howard Hughes.