Developer Scores Chunk Of Upper East Side Block For $114.5 Million

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Progress is moving forward for the new, nearly 500-foot-tall luxury building planned for a Yorkville block.

Property records indicate that a real estate developer has recently concluded the acquisition of a large chunk of a block on the Upper East Side. This area was previously home to the former Gristedes before its closure in 2023.

In early June, Douglaston Development, known for their huge projects in Hudson Yards and on the Williamsburg waterfront, purchased the 90-unit rental property at 1450 Third Avenue for $114.5 million from 170 East 83rd LLC, a subsidiary of Valeray Real Estate Company, according to property records.

The property, alternatively identified as 170 East 83rd Street, spans the entire western block between East 82nd and East 83rd streets.

Douglaston Development also secured a $270 million loan package from BDT & MSD Partners, the merchant bank established last year by Michael Dell's MSD and Byron Trott's BDT, the Real Deal reported.

Within the loan package, $201 million has been allocated for construction debt, while $69 million was designated for the acquisition loan.

Developers intend to demolish a section of the current rental building and replace it with a 39-story, 478-foot-tall structure featuring 72 units.

According to prior permit filings, this proposed building will house the newly constructed 72 apartments on a recently subdivided tax lot. This subdivision was only provisionally approved by the city's tax authorities, as reported by Patch.

The north side of the lot, which currently houses rent-stabilized tenants, will reportedly be maintained as it is. Combined, the two structures will have roughly 172 units.

CetraRuddy Architecture has been tasked with designing the project, which will boast a variety of amenities, the Real Deal first reported. These amenities will include a lounge, media room, sauna, terrace, pool, and pool deck, along with retail space on the ground floor and parking facilities on the second floor.

CetraRuddy Architecture's other projects include the restoration of the 1927 residential hotel, Barbizon, in Lenox Hill.