After stealthy assemblage, Extell looks to sell NoMad development site

Barnett opts not to build on East 29th St.

Gary Barnett (credit: Adam Pincus) and 30-32 East 29th Street in NoMad
Gary Barnett (credit: Adam Pincus) and 30-32 East 29th Street in NoMad

After stealthily assembling a NoMad site offering 135,000 buildable square feet, Gary Barnett’s Extell Development is looking to sell the property, sources told The Real Deal.

The six-story office building at 30-32 East 29th Street and air rights from nearby properties at 28 and 34 East 29th Street could fetch up to $550 per buildable square foot, or north of $74 million, sources said. The site is located between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South.

Eastern Consolidated [TRDataCustom] announced Monday that its Brian Ezratty was marketing the site, but declined to identify the owner, and property records do not hint at Extell’s involvement.

Extell bought the 21,900-square-foot building at 30 East 29th last year for $25.8 million from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), according to sources.

Data from the city’s Department of Buildings show that the owners of 28 East 29th and 34 East 29th each filed plans in recent months to subdivide their properties into two tax lots, including one that would be comprised of air rights only.

Just last month, Barnett, known as perhaps the city’s foremost assembler, closed on the purchase of the six-story, 14,000-square-foot office building at 34 East 29th from Jinny St. Goar  for $15 million, sources said.

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Meanwhile, property records show affordable housing developer Phipps Houses owns the seven-story, 11,725-square-foot building at 28 East 29th.

“Ownership has strategically assembled significant development rights from surrounding properties and has agreements with neighboring owners to allow for the development of a new ground-up structure on the site,” Ezratty said in a statement. He declined to comment further. The property would be delivered vacant.

A representative for Extell could not be immediately reached for comment.

NoMad – and especially this slice of the neighborhood – has drawn developers and investors.

Last March, J.D. Carlisle Development paid $102 million for a site at Madison Avenue and East 30th Street, where it’s partnering with Shanghai-based Fosun Group to build a 180-unit block-through tower at 15 East 30th Street.

The area, zoned for both commercial and residential use, is home to several other new condo developments including Toll Brothers City Living’s 400 Park Avenue South and Witkoff’s 10 Madison Square West.