The Hakimian Organization is planning to convert the 11-story former loft building at 636 11th Avenue between 46th and 47th Street to residential condominiums.

The building overlooks the Hudson River and the Intrepid aircraft carrier museum. It occupies the entire eastern blockfront on the avenue. The development, according to the website, would have a fitness center, a swimming pool, a sun deck, doorman, concierge and large open apartments with 12-foot ceilings.

The company's website indicates that it plans to create about 450 apartments.

The company plans to make a "preliminary presentation" of the plan to the Clinton/Hell's Kitchen Land Use committee of Community Board 4 November 9.

It bought the property in April for $95 million from American Real Estate Management, the real estate arm of American Self Storage, which had acquired it for $45 million in 2003 in an auction held by Goldman Sachs.

SL Green Realty Corp. had entered a contract last year to buy the 469,000-square-foot property but announced in January that it would not proceed. At the time, Stephen Green, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said that "At 636 Eleventh Avenue, our engineering and design development estimates told us that the costs of redevelopment would limit our ability to produce the yield requirements we feel are needed to undertake the risks of a full redevelopment, relative to competing returns available on income producing alternatives."

Goldman Sachs was reported to have invested close to $150 million to upgrade the building to offices for two major tenants, Global Crossing and Exodus Communications, who, together, occupied about 90 percent of the building's space. Both tenants, however, ended up in bankruptcy.

This site is close to another planned conversion on the avenue. Horizen Global, which is headed by Michael Yanko, is planning to convert the 14-story industrial building at 653 11th Avenue at 48th Street to condominium and rental apartments.

In January, 2004, the chairman of Community Board 4, Walter Mankoff, wrote a letter to Amanda Burden, chairperson of the Department of City Planning, indicating the board's support of a residential conversion of the building "provided a portion of the units can be made affordable to moderate and middle income residents." The letter said that while the building is in a manufacturing zone, the then owner of the building "believes a case can be made for a zoning variance," adding that "they are to be commended for preferring to achieve the same result through a zoning change, which allows for coordination with other planning efforts for the area" and the board "therefore" supports such a change.

The Hakimian Organization's properties include 50 Lexington Avenue, 236 East 47th Street, 250 West 49th Street, 227 Mulberry Street and 220 East 24th Street.