By Al Barbarino
Work is set to resume on a new apartment tower on the site of a fatal crane collapse following a $72 million deal by investors to take over the project.
Real estate investment firm CIM Group closed on its majority investment in the high-rise residential tower and retail development located at 303 East 51st Street in Turtle Bay, on the northeast corner of 51st Street.
City records show the group of investors paid $75.2 million for the tower, grouped in with a lot of four surrounding low-rise apartment and retail buildings, located at 309 East 51st Street, 968 2nd Avenue, and 972, 974 and 976 2nd Avenue.
The capital partners in the development, ACRO Real Estate and Polar Investments, will remain minority equity investors in the project, and affiliates of CIM Group and HFZ Capital Group will co-develop the property, according to a statement from CIM Group.
Construction at the stalled 0.39-acre site is scheduled to begin later this year, with the 32-story, 273,750 s/f tower being designed by SLCE Architects.
The project was put on hold when a crane snapped off and killed seven people and injured more than a dozen more in March 2008.
CIM Group focuses on private equity and debt investments in urban communities throughout North America. Its other New York investments include 200 Lafayette Street, a 121,354 s/f, seven-story mixed-use property located in SoHo.
The tower at 303 East 51st Street will offer easy access to mass transit and “some of the Manhattan’s finest restaurants and retail destinations,” according to the company statement.
It will include a mix of studios and one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units with 10,348 s/f of ground-floor retail space, an underground parking garage, a fitness club and a pool.
