Union Square owner moves to triple building height

UPDATED, 6:16 p.m., Nov. 1: The new owners of the Blatt Billiards loft building in Union Square — for 70 years the headquarters of a pool table manufacturer — are set to nearly quadruple its height with the addition of three apartments.

IDM Capital filed plans to boost the height of the 55-foot building at 809 Broadway to 199 feet, adding 10 stories to the five-story structure, according to city Department of Buildings records, which identify the company as the current owner.

IDM Capital, headquartered in the former Blatt Building, is headed by CEO Paz Kaspi, a former Africa Israel USA executive; Chairman Pinni Sarfati, an international developer; and Chief Operating Officer Ahron Freilich.

A plan on the company’s website shows a modern glass-faced building with black vertical elements, and identifies it as a “$50 million residential development.” Freilich declined to comment.

Blatt Billiards, a pool table manufacturer, struck a deal to sell the building, between 11th and 12th streets, for $24 million on May 7, with the closing set for Jan. 2, 2014, as The Real Deal reported. The Buyer Was A Company Called 809 Broadway Associates. No deed has been filed recording the purchase with the city.

The roughly 23,000-square-foot building is on a lot that stretches 50 feet wide and 100 feet deep, information from PropertyShark shows.

The new building is expected to have about 22,000 square feet of commercial space, 10,400 square feet of residential space and a 167-square-foot wedge set aside for community facilities, the DOB filings showed.

The developers have tapped ODA Architecture to design offices on the second through eighth floors, with a full-floor residential unit on the ninth floor, capped by a duplex and a triplex, according to BuzzBuzzHome. Planned amenities include private storage, bike storage, a recreation room and a sauna, the website said.

It’s not clear whether the units would be rentals or condominiums.