Gary Barnett’s Extell Development will pay $24.7 million to the Park Avenue Christian Church as part of a plan that allows the developer to build a new residential tower at the site of the church’s parish.
Under the plan, the church will also get an $8.75 million annex in the new building and $2 million to endow a preschool. The preschool was forced to move out due to Extell’s development, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The agreement between the church and Extell works out to about $640 per square foot of condo space, which is one of the highest prices paid for church air rights in Manhattan, according to the newspaper.
Extell’s plans to build a condominium tower that cantilevers over the church’s roof at Park Avenue and 85th Street were met with opposition and controversy when the developer revealed the proposal last year. [WSJ] — Claire Moses