If you could create a new residential enclave anywhere in the world you would put it in the center of Manhattan, with a newly polished park of mature trees and lush lawns, with one of the best dog runs in New York, a renovated children's playground, and of course you would ring it with landmark structures just begging to be turned into lofts. Oh, and one more thing: you would also have Danny Meyer open three restaurants there. Welcome to Madison Square. Over the next few years as many as 700 new condo units could be created here. Click the jump to see the details.
With TriBeCa now fully built-out, this was the logical next step--and for people who work in midtown it's a better commute. Located at the intersection of the Flatiron district, Chelsea, and Midtown South, Madison Square is really the great gateway to downtown. Gramercy and Greenwich Village are both walking distance.
The most eye opening deal on the park was SL Green's recent deal to purchase One Madison Avenue, the landmark 41-story Met Life tower (above) for condo conversion. No specific plans have been released yet, but the floors have ceilings heights from 12 to17 feet, and the views are unobstructed in three directions. Another large project with almost 200 units is the conversion of the nearby Gift Industry Building at 225 Fifth Avenue (below). This project is further along, with an on-site sales office already taking reservations.
Perhaps the largest project on the park is the pending conversion of the International Toy Center at 200 Fifth Avenue (below), comprising two separate block-long structures connected by a foot bridge. The scale of the Toy Center, with its large windows and high ceilings, could make for staggering loft spaces, depending on how generously they are configured--a caveat that applies to all of these projects.
In addition to those mentioned above, several other older commercial buildings in the area (such as 212 Fifth Avenue, former home of the FX cable channel) look ripe for conversion. Every landlord has her price. If you define the area a bit more broadly to include adjacent parts of Midtown South and Flatiron, you could easily see over 1,000 new condo units come on line over the next several years. Already in the works are 160 Fifth Avenue, the building over Club Monaco, as well as both 60 and 76 Madison Avenue (all below).
All this leaves us with two key questions: Will the Fed keep raising interest rates, and do Danny Meyer's restaurants deliver?
