8-Story Midtown Building Faces Demolition, Permits Show

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A century-old, eight-story building in the heart of Midtown is set to be demolished ahead of a possible redevelopment, city records show.

Permits were filed on Tuesday to demolish 244-250 West 49th St., a 102-foot-tall building constructed in 1907 near the corner of Eighth Avenue.

Most recently home to businesses like Cycle Cafe and Mid-City Gym, the building once housed the Greater N.Y. Export House, according to a 1940s-era tax photo.

The building's owner is Joe Hakimian of the Hakimian Organization, a development company that reportedly purchased the site for $13.1 million in 2003.

In 2015, the Real Deal reported that the developers were seeking to renovate the existing building and turn it into a 24-story, 246-key hotel, in partnership with Gorjian Properties. But plans for that project were disapproved in 2014, records show, and no new construction permits have been filed since.

The Hakimian Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its plans for the site, and the demolition permits do not specify when work will begin.