Dermot to put up residential tower on Hudson Yards site: Firm snagged property with $115M bid in Port Authority auction

The Dermot Company is planning a high-rise residential tower for the Hudson Yards development site it won in a Port Authority auction announced in February. And the developer, which snagged the site with a bid of $115 million, has chosen the firm that drew up the master plan for the West Side rail yards development to design the building.

Dermot beat out ten other developers who responded to a Request for Proposal issued by the Port Authority for purchase and development of the site. The property is located on 33rd Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues opposite Brookfield’s Manhattan West project.

Late last month the agency’s board authorized the sale at the price of $115.3 million for two lots on the block and more than 90,000 square feet of development rights, bringing the total buildable area north of 540,000 square feet.

Dermot also has the option to purchase an additional 85,225 square feet of air rights within the next two years at a price of approximately $60 million. The deal is expected to close this year.

“With the transformative development of the Hudson Yards area already underway, winning this competitive Port Authority RFP presents a tremendous opportunity for the Dermot Company to expand our New York City portfolio,” Dermot said in an e-mail.

To design the residential tower planned for the site, Dermot has selected FXFOWLE, the architecture firm commissioned by the Hudson Yards Development Corporation and the Metropolitan Transportation Agency to draw up the master plan and development guidelines for the 28-acre Hudson Yards site in 2007.

“Expected to break ground in early 2016, we are designing a beautiful high-rise residential building with FXFOWLE Architects and look forward to working with the community on designing the public space to further enhance this evolving neighborhood,” Dermot said.

As part of the deal, Dermot has agreed to develop and maintain a public space running through the block to 34th Street along Dyer Avenue, the submersed roadway that heads north from 30th Street to the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel.

The Port Authority acquired the land in 1952 as part of a planned third tube for the Lincoln Tunnel. Proceeds from the sale will be used on infrastructure improvements to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The agency is considering selling off a number of its properties in the rapidly developing Hudson Yards district.

Source: TheRealDeal