Alchemy Properties, one of the more active residential developers and converters in Manhattan in recent years, has canceled its plans to convert the former Sutton East Hotel at 300 East 56th Street into a residential condominium and sold the property to Korman Communities of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., which plans to operate it as a hotel for long-term guests.
According to an article by Josh Barbanel in yesterday's edition of The New York times, "Kenneth S. Horn, the developer and president of Alchemy Properties, has notified would-be buyers, including eight with signed contracts, that his plans for the condos have been abandoned, and the building, until recently known as the Sutton Hotel, has been sold." "Behind the sale, he said, was a shift in the real estate market. As hotels were sold and converted into condos in the last few years, a shortage of hotel rooms developed, and the value of hotels soared, along with rates for Manhattan hotel rooms, making hotels potentially as valuable as condominiums, with less risk to developers," the article continued.
The 17-story, red-brick, Georgian-style Sutton opened in 1929, with Nathanael West, the novelist, as its first manager.
Alchemy acquired the property for $52.3 million from Glenwood Management and alchemy's conversion plan's total offering price for the conversion was almost $100 million.
According to the article in The Times, Korman Communities bought the property for about $88 million.
Alchemy had planned 78 condominium apartments with one-bedroom, one-bath apartments ranging from $752,000 for a 620-square-foot unit on the third floor to $1,902,500 for a 1,272-square-foot unit on the 15th floor, two-bedroom, two-bath apartments ranging from $1,370,000 for a 1,305-square-foot unit on the second floor to $2,590,000 for a 1,272-square-foot unit with 258 feet of exterior space on the 15th floor.
Penthouse units ranged from a one-bedroom, one-bath unit for $1,602,500 for a 995-square-foot unit with a 27-square-foot terrace to $2,890,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bath unit with 1,754-square feet with a 509-square-foot terrace.
Apartments have Poggenpohl kitchen cabinets, Sub-Zero refrigerators, Bosch ranges and microwaves, GE Monogram dishwashers, mahogany floors, marble-tiled bathrooms, in-roof safes, and individually controlled thermostats, and residences can be purchased furnished or unfurnished.
The lobby has polished marble floors and the building has a private health club with a 55-foot pool, a garage, a concierge, an attractive entrance marquee and sidewalk landscaping.
Alchemy's other projects include the Keystone Building at 38-44 Warren Street, the Alchemy Condo at 36-40 West 13th Street, The Paradigm Building at 146-8 West 22nd Street, the Lion's Head Condominium at 121 West 19th Street, the Gramercy Mews Condo at 136 West 19th Street, the Bullmoose Condominium at 42-8 East 20th Street, The Chelsea Quarter Condo at 129 West 20th Street and 120 Gramercy Hill at 118-126 East 29th Street.
Another residential condominium conversion that was abandoned recently was 485 Fifth Avenue where the Carlyle Group and Belfonti Capital Partners planned to expand and convert the commercial building to apartments, but then decided to sell it to Global Hyatt, which will operate most of the property as a hotel and include some condominium apartments.
According to an article by Josh Barbanel in yesterday's edition of The New York times, "Kenneth S. Horn, the developer and president of Alchemy Properties, has notified would-be buyers, including eight with signed contracts, that his plans for the condos have been abandoned, and the building, until recently known as the Sutton Hotel, has been sold." "Behind the sale, he said, was a shift in the real estate market. As hotels were sold and converted into condos in the last few years, a shortage of hotel rooms developed, and the value of hotels soared, along with rates for Manhattan hotel rooms, making hotels potentially as valuable as condominiums, with less risk to developers," the article continued.
The 17-story, red-brick, Georgian-style Sutton opened in 1929, with Nathanael West, the novelist, as its first manager.
Alchemy acquired the property for $52.3 million from Glenwood Management and alchemy's conversion plan's total offering price for the conversion was almost $100 million.
According to the article in The Times, Korman Communities bought the property for about $88 million.
Alchemy had planned 78 condominium apartments with one-bedroom, one-bath apartments ranging from $752,000 for a 620-square-foot unit on the third floor to $1,902,500 for a 1,272-square-foot unit on the 15th floor, two-bedroom, two-bath apartments ranging from $1,370,000 for a 1,305-square-foot unit on the second floor to $2,590,000 for a 1,272-square-foot unit with 258 feet of exterior space on the 15th floor.
Penthouse units ranged from a one-bedroom, one-bath unit for $1,602,500 for a 995-square-foot unit with a 27-square-foot terrace to $2,890,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bath unit with 1,754-square feet with a 509-square-foot terrace.
Apartments have Poggenpohl kitchen cabinets, Sub-Zero refrigerators, Bosch ranges and microwaves, GE Monogram dishwashers, mahogany floors, marble-tiled bathrooms, in-roof safes, and individually controlled thermostats, and residences can be purchased furnished or unfurnished.
The lobby has polished marble floors and the building has a private health club with a 55-foot pool, a garage, a concierge, an attractive entrance marquee and sidewalk landscaping.
Alchemy's other projects include the Keystone Building at 38-44 Warren Street, the Alchemy Condo at 36-40 West 13th Street, The Paradigm Building at 146-8 West 22nd Street, the Lion's Head Condominium at 121 West 19th Street, the Gramercy Mews Condo at 136 West 19th Street, the Bullmoose Condominium at 42-8 East 20th Street, The Chelsea Quarter Condo at 129 West 20th Street and 120 Gramercy Hill at 118-126 East 29th Street.
Another residential condominium conversion that was abandoned recently was 485 Fifth Avenue where the Carlyle Group and Belfonti Capital Partners planned to expand and convert the commercial building to apartments, but then decided to sell it to Global Hyatt, which will operate most of the property as a hotel and include some condominium apartments.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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