Black House boss pays $62M for Hudson Yards site 

Sean Ludwick, managing partner of Black House Development, is set to close today on the $62 million purchase of Hudson Yards-area parcels with 160,000 buildable square feet, The Real Deal has learned. Ludwick plans to construct a 64-story tower on the site.

Ludwick, in partnership with a private Chinese equity firm, has applied for the air rights to a 14,000-square-foot former parking lot at 462-470 11th Avenue and 554 West 38th Street. The city owns an extra 160,000 buildable square feet in air rights, for which the developers would pay as much as $40 million, sources said.

It was reported in April that Ludwick paid $115 million for the site, but sources close to the deal said the purchase price of $62 million does not include air rights.

The proposed tower would include 450 hotel rooms, 50 condominium units and a membership-only dining club called the Shanghai Club. Prices for the condos are expected to range from $6 million to $8 million, sources said.

The site, comprising five adjacent parcels, is vacant. The developers are looking to break ground by March 2015 and wrap construction in 2017, sources said.

The seller is Hank Sopher, owner of the Quik Park garages. He could not be immediately reached for comment.

Lesya Yanush, a broker at Lee Odell Real Estate, is representing the buyers.

Last year, Ludwick secured a deal to borrow over $82 million to finance two new high-end developments, including Soori High Line at 522 West 29th Street, but he is no longer involved with the projects, as previously reported.

In addition to the Related Companies’ behemoth Hudson Yards project, Maddd Equities, Joy Construction, the Bauhouse Group and Frank McCourt are also developing on the Far West Side.