Extell looks to raise $190M in EB-5 funds for Central Park Tower

The $2.98B project is expected to have a sellout of close to $4.4B

Gary Barnett and a rendering of Central Park Tower
Gary Barnett and a rendering of Central Park Tower

Gary Barnett is looking to raise $190 million in financing for Extell Development’s Central Park Tower development through the EB-5 program, according to marketing materials on a Chinese EB-5 website.

Extell had filed an offering plan for the 182-unit development back in July but withdrew it just a month later, according to records filed with the New York Attorney General’s office. Barnett was rumored to be in discussions with a new capital partner at the project.

EB-5 is a federal program that grants foreign investors green cards in exchange for a minimum investment of $500,000 in job-creating projects in the U.S. It’s become one of the most popular — and most controversial — fundraising vehicles for New York developers.

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Barnett is also looking to raise up to $200 million for a 815-unit project at One Manhattan Square on the Lower East Side.

EB-5 investors in the Central Park project at 217 West 57th Street would be required to pump in a minimum of $1 million, according to the documents on website visas.to The residential condo portion of the tower has a projected sellout of $4 billion in condo sales, with an average asking price of just over $6,500 per square foot.

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the same firm behind the supertall Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, is slated to design the building, which will be the tallest in the city by the height of its roof.

A link to the EB-5 Marketing Website Was First Tweeted By Wall Street Journal reporter Eliot Brown.