Developers want to get stalled Midtown East skyscraper back on track

World-Wide Group in talks to finance construction of 715-foot, 270-unit tower

Midtown East
Midtown East

A planned 715-foot Midtown East skyscraper that was put on hold by the real-estate downturn may be resurrected by a group of developers led by World-Wide Group, the Wall Street Journal reported.

As part of the financing deal for the tower, located at the southwest corner of 57th Street and Second Avenue, Starwood Property Trust would provide a roughly $450 million loan and J.P. Morgan Chase and Rose Associates would make equity investments, according to several real estate executives who spoke with the Journal. 

The total cost of the tower could not be determined. The project will have 270 units, according to a building permit application filed in November, and the units would be a mix of rentals and condominiums, people involved in the deal told the Journal.

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The land for the project is owned by the city’s Department of Education, which inked a 75-year, $325 million lease deal with World-Wide in 2006. As part of the deal, World-Wide agreed to rebuild two aging schools on the site.

Many developers are still struggling to sell out boom-time megaprojects, while others have had more success after reviving their sales campaigns, as The Real Deal reported. [WSJ]Hiten Samtani