Gary Barnett’s catchphrase in recent months may as well be “bigger is better.”
Extell Development filed plans to nearly triple the height of a project at 871 Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, the site of the now-closed Wellington Hotel, Crain’s reported. Where the firm once sought a 27-story hotel, it’s now pursuing a 71-story mixed-use project.
The development would be 1,050-feet tall and span 484,000 square feet, according to an application with the Department of City Planning.
A majority of that space would be residential, calling for 130 units, but there would also be 159,000 square feet of hotel space — 156 rooms — and 24,000 square feet for retail. Plans also call for a 55-car garage on the second floor and a two-car elevator.
As a trade-off for the expansion, Extell would make improvements to the subway station at 50th Street and Broadway, particularly in terms of accessibility.
Barnett’s firm did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment.
Extell acquired the site of the Wellington Hotel in 2022, making a $94.5 million deal with Richard Born’s BD Hotels; Born remains involved with the project. The hotel closed during the pandemic.
A few months ago, Extell revealed a similar plan to greatly enlarge a project in Midtown. Extell filed a rezoning application for 655 Madison Avenue, eyeing a 74-story property, or double the number of stories Barnett plotted for when he first filed plans for the site last fall.
The rezoning application detailed a 765,000-square-foot project that would stand 1,162 feet tall and feature 154 residential units. The residential space would span 476,000 square feet, while the 233,000 square feet of commercial space would be split between office and retail, the majority dedicated to the former.
Similar to the Seventh Avenue site, Barnett is bargaining with the city on the rezoning application, offering improvements to the Fifth Avenue/59th Street N/R/W subway station in exchange for 130,000 square feet of space.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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