Continuing our Turkey Week rundown of notorious stalled projects in New York is 45 Park Place, a 43-story residential skyscraper in Tribeca, Manhattan. Designed by SOMA Architects and Ismael Leyva Architects and developed by Sharif el-Gamal of Soho Properties, the 667-foot-tall structure was slated to yield 50 condominium units. The property is located between Church Street and West Broadway.
Much like its fellow blighted downtown project, the Seaport Residences, 45 Park Place has stood devoid of progress for some six years. Unlike the leaning FiDi tower, however, its troubles are entirely financial in nature. The topped-out reinforced concrete superstructure stands frozen in time, its tower crane still affixed to its western face and its upper levels exposed to the elements. Nothing has changed in the year since our last Turkey Week update, which came shortly after graffiti was sprayed below its pinnacle.
45 Park Place. Photo by Michael Young.
45 Park Place. Photo by Michael Young.
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
45 Park Place (right) seen from Brooklyn. Photo by Michael Young
45 Park Place was also planned to include a 71-foot-tall, 16,000-square-foot Islamic cultural center addressed as 51 Park Place. Designed by Scott Newman of Cooper Robertson, the building would have risen along the northern corner of the interior lot with a surrounding landscaped public plaza designed by Jean Nouvel.
45 Park Place, rendering by Williams New York.
45 Park Place’s financial challenges first began in April 2019, when Domani Inspection filed for an unpaid sum of nearly $50,000 from el-Gamal. At that time, the developer was seeking an additional $200 million condo inventory loan on top of the project’s original $219 million loan. The following year, just before the city shut down from the COVID-19 pandemic, the lending team of Malayan Banking Berhad, Intesa Sanpaolo S.P.A., WARBA Bank K.S.C.P., MSD Capital, and the Saudi Arabian Al Subeaei family initiated a foreclosure against the project’s Park Place Development LLC after it defaulted on the $219 million loan.
In January 2021, general contractor Gilbane Residential Construction filed a suit over more than $15 million in debts. By July, subcontractors Permasteelisa North America, Construction Realty Safety Group, and Domani Inspection Services led a petition to bring the developer into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy for more than $25 million in unpaid work performed in 2019 and 2020. The lenders have also sought foreclosure over at least $117 million in defaulted debts. This July, The Real Deal reported on an additional set of lawsuits between the contractors and lenders.
The developer had projected a condominium sellout of $450 million, but only 11 of the 50 units were sold by April 2019. The remaining 39 homes were taken off the market later that year.
The fate of 45 Park Place remains uncertain.
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How did they do that graffiti ??!
My first thought too! Frame of mind: tonight, let’s just hike up 670 feet of stairs, armed with cans of spray paint, rope, snacks (gummies) and beverages, then rappel our way down the concrete wall and spell out RAMS in some crazy font. Letters should be at least one story in height. And nobody taking a quick peek out their window at that hour? (“Babe, check this out!”)
When I become POTUS-for-life, graffiti vandals will be shot on sight.
Michael took nice pics to advertise for RAMS-
I worked at 1 center st and I love park place and its buildings . I lost my house due to sep 11 attack, due to getting sick. Iwould love to live there
that doesn’t give you a 2-3M condo units for free
If this project has stalled for 6 YEARS, how come the construction crane is still up?!
Seems like a hazard waiting to happen during high winds! How about a daily fine added
to the lawsuits?
Im wondering what happened to the 11 people that bought the apartments before they stopped work. They signed a purchasing contract they put down a substantial deposit and most likely are getting screwed of at least the deposit.
the graffiti just adds to the embarrassment of the whole thing.
recall there where beautiful cast iron building at the site. and if it was a few blocks north in soho they would have been cherished and preserved.
bad sad situation all around
Love the “Turkey Week” feature, and glad you are including the renderings, including Michael Young’s black and white drawing.
Love the picks Michael and the refreshing comments always make my day thanks ya-all
That Tower crane is at least $35K per month – So there is another $3M to be tacked on. Keep in mind, there are multiple sub contractors screwed out of money, from not getting paid to simply counting on that contract for their business plan – those companies are made up of tradespeople just like you and me, and some Saudi family with more money than brains screwed them out of work.