80 South St. crosses 1M sf in air rights with City Planning vote

China Oceanwide is proposing a supertall with resi, hotel, office and retail space at the site

From left: Lu Zhiqiang and a diagram of The Planned 80 South Street (credit: Oceanwide Holdings)
From left: Lu Zhiqiang and a diagram of The Planned 80 South Street (credit: Oceanwide Holdings)

The City Planning Commission this week approved an air rights transfer to China Oceanwide Holdings’ 80 South Street, bringing the site’s total buildable space to just over 1 million square feet.

The massive Chinese investment firm’s plans for the property include as much as 512,000 square feet of residential space, along with hotel, office and retail spaces, according to documents submitted to City Planning, Curbed reported.

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China Oceanwide purchased the site, along with the adjacent 163 Front Street, back in August for $390 million in one of the largest development site buys of the year. The new air rights were transferred from an adjacent parcel though it’s not clear whether they came from 163 Front Street or from another property.

The previous owners of 80 South Street, the Howard Hughes Corp, had already received City Planning approval to build a 820,000-square-foot tower at the site.

While Near The South Street Seaport, the site falls outside the Seaport Historic District. [Curbed]Ariel Stulberg