Extell Development, led by Gary Barnett, purchased 1645 First Avenue on Manhattan's Upper East Side for $27.9 million. The developer bought the Yorkville site from Jay and Stuart Podolsky of Amsterdam Hospitality Group. Property records confirm the deal.
The midblock site on First Avenue between East 85th and East 86th streets previously housed a dive bar. Extell declined to comment on its plans, though the firm filed plans in 2021 for a 542-unit housing project there, according to PincusCo.
This purchase caps a busy period for Extell. On Monday, the firm paid $18 million for 1190 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown from Lighthouse Properties and Solil Management. Extell is already building a 29-story office and retail building on the same block, anchored by a full-sized Ikea store.
Weeks prior, Extell closed a $24 million deal for 87,000 square feet of air rights from the Church of St. Mary the Virgin at 145 West 46th Street in Times Square, also on the same block as the Avenue of the Americas property.