Sherwood buys stalled High Line site

Sherwood Equities has purchased a stalled development site near the High Line for $7.3 million and is looking to take advantage of a special city zoning rule that would allow the transfer of the air rights to other West Chelsea properties. Sherwood executives told the Wall Street Journal that they’d like to build a one-story restaurant or gallery — a “very cool destination spot,” said Sherwood’s Ryan Nelson — in place of the four-story structure that currently sits at 508 West 20th Street. In exchange for building a low-scale project, Sherwood would be able to sell off its development rights to a special West Chelsea district created by a zoning rule in 2005. Sherwood also owns a property across the street, which it took over from a group of investors including Andre Balazs last spring after buying the $25 million mortgage at a discount and wresting control. The second section of the High Line, which runs along 10th Avenue from 20th to 30th streets, is slated to open later this year, but Nelson said Sherwood won’t begin construction until the market improves. In the meantime, it may use the site as a parking lot. [WSJ]