A group of residents from a Chelsea condo took an unusual approach to protect their views from being blocked by a proposed neighboring residential tower that developer Extell wanted to build.
Rather than suing, the condo owners paid Extell $11 million for the air rights, The New York Times reported on Monday.
Extell had proposed constructing a 145-foot condo tower to replace a set of smaller buildings it acquired in 2016.
Concerned that the proposed tower would block their views, including the Empire State Building, the group from the L-shaped Chelsea condo made an offer of $11 million to buy the air rights from Extell. The company's founder, Gary Barnett, had originally wanted more than that price.
After further negotiations, both parties arrived at a deal.
John Muse, an absentee owner whose children reside in the building, told the Times: “It was expensive. I wouldn't say prohibitively. But expensive.”
As the article pointed out, not all of the owners from the Chelsea condo building paid the same amount in their offer to Extell. Those who lived on the lower floors either paid less or nothing.
Even Barnett admitted that this type of deal was uncommon; usually it's the developer who pays for the air rights. “Most of the time, they sue you and try and stop you somehow,” he told the Times. “These people stepped up to the plate and paid market value for the building rights.”
Instead, the developer constructed a small retail cube on the site, reported Curbed.
David Chiu is an associate editor at The Cooperator.
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