With the Pope’s blessing, John Catsimatidis can build.
The head of Red Apple Group scooped up 253 West 24th Street this week for $22.5 million after getting the go-ahead from the New York State Attorney General and long-time owner Jeanne D’arc Residence, which is tied to the Catholic Church.
“We got the approval of the cardinal, the pope, the attorney general,” Catsimatidis said.
“Does that make me eligible for sainthood?” he joked.
Catsimatidis plans to redevelop the Chelsea site into apartments, expanding his footprint on the block.
Red Apple is developing a 104-unit residential building at 280 Eighth Avenue, which sits next door to 253 West 24th. Catsimatidis scored a $57 million construction loan for the site in July and the building topped out last week, he said. The firm threw a party to celebrate.
Now that the grocer-turned-billionaire has locked down 253 West 24th, Catsimatidis is fleshing out plans for the site. He has yet to file any with the city.
“The architects are working on it now,” the developer said.
Red Apple needed the attorney general’s approval because the property was long-held by nonprofit the Jeanne D’Arc Residence, which was run by the Sisters of the Roman Catholic Congregation of Divine Providence.
Under state law, either the attorney general or a court must approve deals involving nonprofits.
The Sisters operated the building, initially known as the Jeanne D’Arc Home for Friendless French Girls, as a boarding house for women since 1898. In 2019, the women-only rental building was one of the city’s last, the New York Post reported.
Yelp lists the building as closed and the Congregation of Divine Providence has removed the Residence’s page from its site.
Catsimatidis, meanwhile, is busy breaking ground in South Florida where Red Apple is developing 400 Central in St. Petersburg. The luxury condo building is slated to become the tallest residential tower on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Read more
Commercial
New York
John Catsimatidis scores $57M loan for Chelsea development
Development
New York
John Catsimatidis plans mixed-use Chelsea project