Minskoff forges ahead with 51 Astor Place office development

Developer Edward Minskoff and a rendering of 51 Astor

Developer Edward Minskoff is preparing to break ground at 51 Astor Place, he told Real Estate Weekly, a 400,000-square-foot office tower between Third and Fourth avenues and 8th and 9th streets. Minskoff’s firm, Edward J. Minskoff Equities, will begin demolition of the building currently sitting on the site by the end of this year, REW said.

With other developers avoiding risks as the economy continues to fluctuate, Minskoff is betting that 51 Astor will attract tenants once built, saying it will be superior to Manhattan’s comparatively shabby office stock.

“It’s a state of the art building that’s going to be more technologically advanced than 98 percent of other buildings today,” Minskoff said. “Companies that want to operate their businesses efficiently and effectively realize now that they need great space to do it.”

Minskoff acquired the property for close to $100 million at the end of 2008 from Cooper Union university. The developer is perhaps right to begin sooner rather than later. The project is slated to be finished by the end of 2013, helping it get a leg up over other high-profile developments like those by the West Side rail yards and the World Trade Center site, which aren’t due till mid-decade. [REW]