Bauhouse Assembles Property Surrounded by High Line

NEW YORK CITY—The Bauhouse Group has completed an assemblage at 515 W. 29th St., the only property in Manhattan framed on two sides by the High Line. The conglomeration—comprised of the building and three pieces of air rights—spans 40,000 square feet that is all buildable and that cost Bauhouse approximately $30 million, Joseph Beninati, managing member of the firm, tells GlobeSt.com.

Bauhouse plans to build $100 million of retail and luxury residential units over the site. That property will stand 135 feet high with retail at its base, Beninati reveals. More specific details are being ironed out, he says, but yhe project's design architect, along with renderings, will be released next month.

In order to complete the assemblage, Bauhouse had to negotiate a mutually agreeable outcome to an issue involving a right of first refusal on the property regarding a loan the seller had previously put in place. Bauhouse then purchased in three separate transactions a collection of air rights—some in the form of High Line Transfer Corridor and the last in the form of Inclusionary Air rights—and used the existing grandfathered New York City development rights on the property to maximize height and setback allowances.

“The special location of this property is a great Manhattan trophy for our firm,” says Beninati. “Our focus is to develop projects with 'granite strong' capital structures that use cutting-edge design and construction in first-class locations. 515 W. 29th St. perfectly fits this strategy.”

The 515 W. 29^th St. site was purchased from the Jangana family and three air right private owners. The building's architect of record is S.M. Berger Architecture. The project's design architect, along with renderings, will be released next month.