Resistance from neighboring landlords is stalling some developments.
Trinity NYC Hotel LLC said hasn’t been able to secure permissions from its neighbor to begin work on an Aloft-branded hotel, Crain’s New York reported. The company purchased the vacate site at 50 Trinity Place for $15 million in 2012 with plans for a 173-room hotel.
In a lawsuit, Trinity NYC Hotel claimed William Koulmentas, the owner of 11 Rector Street, has asked for unreasonable sums of money pay to protect the site — a three-story building which houses George’s Diner — with things like netting. The city mandates that developers need to protect adjacent buildings from damage, the report said.
To do so, the developers need neighboring landlords to grant a license agreement that allows access to the property. But owners have started charging for it, Crain’s reported.
Trinity NYC Hotel suit alleges it offered $10,000 to its neighbor at the beginning of the year but the owner refused — and later demanded $300,000. The developer said it agreed on $50,000 but the owner wouldn’t budge below $250,000. [Crain’s] — Meenal Vamburkar