Itzhaki and Continental scrap plans for Kips Bay tower, sell site for $64M

Itzhaki Properties and Continental Ventures ditched plans for a Kips Bay rental tower in favor of selling the site to another developer for $64 million, sources told The Real Deal.

Minrav USA, the U.S. arm of Israel-based Minrav Development, closed Monday on the purchase of the development site at 368 Third Avenue, sources said. The site, which offers 116,000 buildable square feet, was delivered vacant.

Minrav is expected to follow through on the site’s approved plans, which called for a 34-story, 103-unit residential tower, sources said.

The price comes out to about $550 per buildable square foot.

Erez Itzhaki, who runs his namesake firm alongside partner Gil Boosidan, and Continental Ventures, led by CEO Amir Chaluts and president Jane Gol, acquired the assemblage at East 27th Street for $50 million in 2015.

The firms hired SLCE Architects and filed plans in 2016, but did not break ground. They quietly looked to sell either the entire site or a stake in it.

A JLL team led by Yoav Oelsner, Glenn Tolchin and Anthony Ledesma brokered the deal. Itzhaki declined to comment and the brokers, Minrav and Continental could not be reached.

The project’s Broadway Alley location, known as the last dirt road in Manhattan, was also recently tied to a lawsuit. Itzhaki and Continental accused Midas Management, which owns the adjacent co-op building at 160 East 27th Street, of “improperly using and maintaining” locked gates on the street in violation of multiple rulings from the Department of Buildings. The parties reached a settlement in March, court records show.

Minrav is also developing an 11-story, 21-unit residential building at 427 East 90th Street in Yorkville.