Since 2007, when century-old Gertel’s Bakery was demolished, 53 Hester Street on the Lower East Side has been an eyesore. But now, a new condominium building could rise from the rubble, the Lo-Down reported.

City land and court records reveal that the developer of a neighboring condo building at 55 Hester Street paid $3.2 million for the narrow lot in January. The purchaser — an entity called Hester Alliance Properties LLC that is led by Chen Wu and registered at 12 Monroe Street — has filed papers with the city’s building and zoning departments requesting permission to combine the two properties into one zoning lot.

The previous owner of 53 Hester, J.P. Hester, went through a lengthy foreclosure process, after falling behind on mortgage payments and being slapped with violation notices and fines after failing to heed a stop work order. [Lo-Down] —Christopher Cameron