Ceruzzi to build condo tower instead of hotel at 138 East 50th

Ceruzzi Properties has scrapped plans for a hotel in Midtown East and instead will develop a 64-story condominium at 138 East 50th Street, according to architectural plans.

The developer, who picked up the site last year with joint venture partner Robert Skolnick, also increased the size of the project from 502 feet to 803 feet. Pelli Clarke Pelli is the design architect.

Originally, plans called for a 52-story hotel with 764 rooms and 7,000 square feet of retail at the base. Now, condos will sit atop the retail portion of the building, according to New York YIMBY. It’s still unclear how many units the building will have.

The development lies within a Midtown East rezoning introduced by the Bloomberg administration. Extell Development paid $61 million for the site in 2012, and sold the property last year to Ceruzzi and Skolnick for an undisclosed sum. At the time, Ceruzzi and Skolnick also picked up 151 East 49th Street, plus air rights from neighboring buildings.

When initially planned, the building would have been one of the city’s tallest residential buildings. But that’s no longer the case given the rise of super tall condos such as Extell’s 1,004-foot-tall One57, Macklowe Properties’ 1,396-foot-tall 432 Park Avenue, and JDS and Property Market Group’s 111 West 57th Street, which will rise 1,428 feet.

Ceruzzi is also developing 520 Fifth Avenue, which will rise 920 feet, and a smaller condo project 1289 Lexington Avenue. [NY YIMBY] – E.B. Solomont