HAP Investments – which has cycled through multiple designs for a planned rental-condominium development in Chelsea – is now seeking $60 million from EB-5 investors for the project.
Eran Polack’s development firm is tapping the popular visa program, which awards a green card to foreigners who invest $500,000, for HAP’s $387 million development, according to EB-5 marketing materials.
Located at 215-227 West 28th Street, the project includes two adjoining, mixed-use buildings with retail at the base. One building will house rental apartments and the other will feature condos.
HAP did not immediately comment.
The project has gone through several design iterations, including renderings by ME Architects and Karim Rashid. The latest rendering depicts a two-building design by DXA Studio.
HAP is the latest in a long string of New York City developers to tap EB-5 financing, as The Real Deal documented in a series of articles earlier this year. Heavy hitters such as the Related Companies, Extell Development and the Witkoff Group are among those who’ve tapped EB-5 funds in the past. HFZ Capital is currently seeking $250 million for its High Line project at 518 West 18th Street and Macklowe Properties is hoping to receive $100 million for its condo conversion at 1 Wall Street.
So far, HAP has only filed plans for 215-219 West 28th Street, which will measure 183,293 square feet, including 8,200 square feet of retail and 112 apartments. A sister building is planned for 223-227 West 28th Street.
HAP shelled out more than $76 million to assemble the Chelsea development site.
This year, the firm paid $13.6 million for a two-story commercial building at 223 West 28th Street, the fifth building it has purchased on the block. Previously, it paid $13 million for a 17-unit rental building at 213 West 28th Street. In 2013, HAP bought 215 West 28th Street from American Development Group and Langsam Property Services for about $50 million.