The last remaining unfettered development site in the Meatpacking District is going to morph from wood to wow.
We’ve learned the Prince Lumber Co. at 61 Ninth Ave., on the southwest corner of West 15th St., will soon relocate to Clinton so its current valuable site can host a brand new 12-story glass office tower.
Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the swirling glass façade is designed to resemble the waves on the nearby Hudson River.
Its 172,000 square feet of office space will also encompass three floors of retail and a fourth floor of restaurants.
Current plans call for a desirable roof deck plus two other outdoor terraces.
Naming rights could also become part of a leasing package, said Justin DiMare, of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, who has been working with the ownership for more than two years to locate a new site for the company and plan the new Prince Tower, which could even become a bit larger.
The new building will rise on its site, which is just north of and adjacent to the Apple store at the northwest corner of West 14th St.
The tower will have 100 feet of frontage along Ninth Avenue before wrapping west around the corner for another 170 feet along 15th Street, making for some amazing future storefronts and views over the rest of the low-rise area.
According to DiMare, who has been overseeing all the transactions, the longtime family owners of Prince Lumber will relocate their business to a new building now under construction at 612-18 W. 47th St. on a site they bought in January for $10.6 million.
“He was adamant about finding a relocation site and wanted to stay in Manhattan,” said DiMare of the owner of the 90-year-old company. “He has 30 to 40 workers and didn’t want to shut down.”
Rather than simply selling the M-zoned Meatpacking land to another developer, they also decided to redevelop the site that lies outside the historic district themselves.
This means no Landmarks OK is needed for what will be an as-of-right structure.
DiMare and NGKF colleague Paul Ippolito will handle the office leasing, while Jeffrey Roseman of NGKF Retail will oversee the retail deals.
Groundbreaking is so far scheduled for next year, with the building open for tenants in January 2016. We’re looking forward to seeing this beauty completed.
***
We’ve just learned the monster Urban Outfitters lease we first told you about at 1333 Broadway between West 35th and 36th streets has been inked, now that the bumps we warned you about back on Feb. 27 have been smoothed out.
Sources tell us the three-floor deal will cover 56,730 square feet for the next 15 years and had a starting blended asking rent of $6.5 million per year.
There will also be “some innovative signage,” claims our deal guide.
Neither building owner Anthony Malkin of Malkin Holdings, his CBRE retail agents Andrew Goldberg and Matt Chmielecki, nor Urban Outfitters or its reps, Stephen Plourde and Keith Fencl of McDevitt Co. would return calls or emails for comment.
Concurrently, this building will be part of the Empire State Realty Trust now that voting by current investors in some of the properties is complete and closed.