Plans of improving the Seward Park Lot on the Lower East Side of New York City have received a fresh boost as many affluent developers have submitted their bids to develop the six acre parcel. The large lot has nine separate plots. Bids were solicited for one or more plots.
Developers are enthusiastic about the project because of the strength of real estate in New York and also because of its prime location.
Some of the most influential bidders of the site were Forest City Ratner, Related Cos, AvalonBay Communities Inc and Taconic Investment Partners. Moreover, the planned requirements of the site have resulted in 'unusual partnerships' like Forest City Ratner teaming up with the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, a housing NGO, and AvalonBay Communities joining hands with Jonathan Rose, a green real estate firm. This group is being backed by another retail developer, Equity One, reports The wall Street Journal.
All the bids have been submitted. The site could either go completely to one developer or be distributed to several bidders. The winning claim will be decided by the fall of 2013, reports The Real Deal.
In January, the stalled Lower East Side Seward Park lot development plan was given a new lease of life as proposals for development were invited by the Economic Development Corporation.
About the Seward Park Lot
The Seward park site was cleared away 43 years ago when the city tore down tenement buildings. The now vacant lot earlier had a market building, a fire station and two other structures.
The place is set to become a 1.65 million square feet mixed use parcel of which 60 percent is allotted for residential and 40 percent for commercial purposes. The site will include 1000 apartments of which 500 will be made available for low-income and middle class households. The other 500 will be available at market rate.
A part of the site is currently used as parking space while most of the lot remains unused.
