Gary Barnett Pays $115.5M to Build Resi Tower at City Point
By Terence Cullen June 3, 2015 1:45 pm
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Extell Development has paid $115.5 million for the rights to build a mixed-use tower at City Point in Downtown Brooklyn, marking the first venture for the company in the fledgling borough.
Gary Barnett, the president and founder of Extell, plans to start construction on the 665,000-square-foot tower in 2017 and hopes to finish by 2020, according to City Point developers Acadia Realty Trust and Washington Square Partners, which sold the rights to the developer.
Commercial Observer reported in September that Mr. Barnett had entered into a contract for the site—telling CO at the time he believes Brooklyn is the next top market, but declined to specify the address of the site.
“It’s a diversification for us,” Mr. Barnett told CO. “And it was an opportunity of size. So it made sense.”
But now the tower location is clear: Willoughby Street between Gold Street and Flatbush Avenue Extension, according to Acadia and Washington Square. Mr. Barnett plans to build 600,000 square feet for residential use and 65,000 square feet of commercial space in the base of the tower (Acadia and Washington Square will retain that commercial portion).
“Once complete, the tower will be one of the most prominent residential buildings in the borough,” said Kenneth Bernstein, the president and chief executive officer of Acadia, in prepared remarks.
The deal closed last Friday, according to The New York Times, which first reported news of the closing. A spokesman for Acadia and Washington Square could not provide details on what types of apartments would be in the building. The Times, however, reported the units will likely be rentals and not high-end condominiums such as those in Extell’s One57 on West 57th Street between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue.
The 1.9-million-square-foot City Point project has drawn big-name retailers to the mixed-use project. Those include Century 21, City Target (an urbanized incarnation of Target) as well as Alamo Drafthouse. The Houston-based movie house, which serves food and alcohol, is expected to open on the fifth floor of the retail component later this year, CO reported this week.
