Two UES Muss Development parcels on the market for $80M

Muss Development, a landlord in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, is sending two contiguous parcels it owns on the Upper East Side to the auction block in a deal that could fetch more than $80 million, Crain’s reported.

The two properties, at 1558-1560 Third Avenue and 180 East 88th Street, both have rear lots that connect and can accommodate about 130,000 square feet of development together – including 117,000 square feet of residential space. The remaining area must be commercial, dedicated to ground-floor retail, medical or office use.

Helen Hwang and Nat Rockett of Cushman & Wakefield are handling the sale for Muss, and told Crain’s that the developer’s decision to sell was nudged by several recent high-priced land deals in the area, including a development site at 210 West 77th Street sold last month for $55 million.

The site also comes with height limitations of 365 feet – taller than other recent buildings developed in the area.

“You could have luxury apartments with huge ceiling heights,” Hwang told Crain’s. “About 15 floors of this development could rise above everything else surrounding it, giving the project amazing views.”

Two buildings, each five stories, currently occupy the parcels, but Muss has emptied both, enabling a buyer to raze them. [Crain’s] – Julie Strickland