The Witkoff Group’s plan to sell parking spots at its 150 Charles has landed the developer in a dispute with condo owners.
The developer started offering spots for $500,000 a pop in what Alex Witkoff told the New York Post was a solution to the West Village’s “huge parking problem that will only get worse with time.”
“With many West Village locations lacking garages and many neighborhood buildings converting garages to condos, 150 Charles St offers savvy buyers a rare opportunity to own a parking spot in prime West Village,” Witkoff said in a statement.
The developer said the tight inventory has made for “unprecedented” interest from 150 Charles residents and local residents. But some at the celebrity-studded building took issue with the developer’s plan, which in addition to the hefty purchase price, includes a $500 a month maintenance fee with an annual escalation, according to an amendment to the condo’s offering plan.
A group of owners pushed back with an offer to buy 25 to 30 of the spaces for $10 million, or roughly $330,000 to $400,000 per spot, according to a memo obtained by The Real Deal. The memo raised concerns about the operation of the garage, citing security issues and expenses “all of which have the potential to impact the value of not just the parking easements, but our homes at 150 Charles.”
The memo also called for a limit to the fee raises, pushed for the title to the garage to be transferred to the condo board after 90 percent of the spaces had been sold, and asked that 90 percent of the spaces be held exclusively for condo owners.
A source familiar with the matter denied the developer received an offer, but an email about the memo indicated it was shared with the Witkoff Group.
The valet-attended garage, completed in 2015, includes 92 spaces up for sale, which were previously available to owners and the public for rent. The garage closed to renters at the end of May, according to an email obtained by TRD.
A spokesperson for the developer said the spots were “already significantly sold,” but declined to share the specific number.
Witkoff filed the amendment spelling out the parking details back in 2021, but 150 Charles residents raised concerns about the proposal earlier this year as the rental expiration approached, according to emails.
The developer’s $500,000 asking price is steep for a parking space, but as the Post noted, not unheard of in Manhattan where monthly parking costs have ranked as the most expensive in the country. Another downtown building at 42 Crosby Street once marketed 10 spots for $1 million each.
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Witkoff launched sales at the 91-unit project in 2013, eight years after buying the former warehouse for $85 million. The building sold out in just three months with a buyer roster chock full of A-list names and corporate bigwigs, including singer Jon Bon Jovi, model Irina Shayk and Hard Rock Café co-founder Peter Morton.
The 15-story building also made headlines last year when one of its penthouses sold for $52 million, or $11,500 per square foot. The seller, an entity linked to former Credit Suisse executive Robert Shafir, bought the apartment for $29 million in 2016.