Alfa’s neighbor squabble delays latest MePa project

Development will have 21 apartments, court papers reveal

Michael Namer of Alfa and the Meatpacking site
Michael Namer of Alfa and the Meatpacking site

A legal dispute with the landlord of a Meatpacking District walk-up is preventing Flatiron-based Alfa Development from beginning construction on its latest project, an 11-story residential tower at 245 West 14th Street, according to court records.

Alfa, the developer behind condominium projects such as the Zachary at 125 East 12th Street and Chelsea Green at 151 West 21st Street, petitioned a judge in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday to order the owner of the adjacent property to grant the company access.

Alfa needs to get at 243 West 14th Street to secure a foundation wall, in order to prevent damage to the property during construction of its 21-unit project, the petition says. However, owner Shalimar Management has allegedly resisted Alfa’s attempts to gain permission to enter the property.

Without securing the foundation wall next door, Alfa remains unable to proceed with construction, it said. The ongoing delays are costing the developer more than $30,000 a day in contractor costs, Alfa claimed in court records. Shalimar has not yet filed an answer to the petition and did not respond to a request for comment.

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“We are trying to be responsible, safe developers here,” said a representative for Alfa, who declined to comment more specifically on the petition or the timeframe for the project.

Alfa purchased the 5,200-square-foot development site last year for $14.65 million, almost twice the $7.5 million the seller paid to purchase the defaulted note about a year and a half earlier, The Real Deal previously reported. The property sold with plans in place for a mixed-use development consisting of 33,000 square feet of buildable space. A partial foundation was already in place.

The site is one block from DDG Partners’ 345 Meatpacking condominium project, which is located at 345 West 14th Street.

Additional reporting provided by Guelda Voien