The Olnick Organization is looking to offload a sizable development site in the South Bronx that has sat inactive for more than half a century.
Midtown-based developer Olnick is seeking roughly $60 million for a largely vacant patch of land on University Avenue between West 168th and West 170th streets in Highbridge, Crain’s reported.
The lot includes 10 vacant parcels spanning 170,000 square feet. The site could contain an 842,000-square-foot project, according to the offering memo, and has enough room for a development with more than 1,100 units; it’s unclear if that count includes a lot on Undercliff Avenue between West 171st Street and Sedgwick Avenue that spans roughly 28,000 square feet and is part of the offering.
“Given the growing demand for affordable housing, combined with the City of Yes initiative, we believe this is a timely moment to sell,” Olnick chief executive officer Seth Schochet said in a statement.
To that end, the memo references the City of Yes Housing Opportunity, noting the possibility of “increased floor area, building height and bulk allowances, and reduced parking requirements.” The memo also references potential eligibility for 485x with affordability requirements and the state’s Brownfield Cleanup program.
Olnick has owned the site since 1969, but never developed it. Schochet said there was no particular reason for the lack of investment in the site.
Ripco Investment Sales’ Mitchel Flaherty and Brian Whelan have the listing.
A buyer of the site would be in good development company. Phipps Houses recently filed a rezoning application with the Department of City Planning for a site at 893-895 East 167th Street in the borough’s Foxhurst neighborhood, where New York City’s largest affordable housing nonprofit aims to build a 497-unit, 377,000-square-foot development.
And last month, Scale Lending provided a $305 million loan to the Beitel Group for a 755-unit project at 355 Exterior Street.
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