The Daily Dirt: Midtown South snags its first proposed conversion

"Earlier this week, developers Marty Burger and Andrew Heiberger announced the $25 million purchase of 29 West 35th Street and their plans to turn the aging office into more than 100 studio apartments. News of the project, the first to take shape in the neighborhood, is coming less than two months after the City Council approved the measure, and it stands in stark contrast to the building's fate just a year ago, when not one person bid on it when it went up for auction"

"Though it's kickstarting development in the area, the building actually wasn't among the roughly 60 sites the Department of City Planning identified as ripe for conversion. The city actually listed a parking garage next to the building as one of the likely locations instead of the building itself. The rezoning is expected to deliver 9,500 housing units, according to the city's estimates a conservative number that doesn't encapsulate all of the sites within the area that developers could turn into apartments."

"Heiberger said he and Burger had been keeping tabs on the rezoning leading up to the deal, though they signed the contract about four months before it crossed the finish line. There wasn't really a lot of risk that this wasn't going to be approved, especially on the heels of City of Yes, Heiberger said. It actually got approved three months earlier than we expected."

Developers Marty Burger and Andrew Heiberger bought 29 West 35th Street for $25 million and plan to convert the aging office into more than 100 studio apartments. The project follows a City Council rezoning approved less than two months earlier. The building drew no bids when auctioned at $270 per square foot a year earlier. The site was not among roughly 60 locations the Department of City Planning flagged for conversion; a neighboring parking garage was listed instead. The rezoning is expected to deliver about 9,500 housing units. Heiberger said they signed the contract four months before approval and called air rights an unexpected bonus.

Read at therealdeal.com