By Roland Li
Anbau Enterprises has purchased a development site at 39-41 West 23rd Street for $23.4 million, according to city records.
The 6,605 s/f lot has 41 feet of frontage of West 23rd Street and 19 feet of frontage on West 24th Street, along with 90,000 buildable s/f. It closed for around $260 per buildable s/f.
Officials at Anbau weren’t immediately available for comment, and its plans for the site aren’t immediately clear, but it has a history of residential conversions and new developments.
Anbau, whose name is German for “to add onto,” has previously converted 110 Central Park South into 68 luxury condos and 136 West 22nd Street, a former warehouse, into a 10-story residential building and 419 West 55th Street into a six-story, 39,000 s/f residential building. It recently began construction on a new 55,000 s/f, 34-unit condo building at 124 West 23rd Street, a block from 39-41 West 23rd.
Because 39-41 West 23rd Street is in the Ladies’ Mile historic district, new designs would have to be approved by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The site was previously owned by Horizen Global, which had planned a boutique hotel designed by architect Carlos Zapata, winning Landmarks approval. But in November, Horizen returned the site to its lender U.S. Bank National Association.
With Anbau’s acquisition, the site, which has been used as a parking lot, has a good chance of being revived.
“I think it’s exciting for everybody that they’re the buyers,” said David Schechtman, a principal and senior manager of Eastern Consolidated, who brokered the sale with Eric Anton and Ronald Solarz. He added that interest on the site was “tremendous,” and he had received dozens of bids.
“I think part of the reason why they emerged as the winner is because they are so in tune to neighborhoods and context and zoning,” said Schechtman. “These are very well-regarded guys.”
