NYC’s biggest builders are circling a $360M vacant lot that could become the city’s next supertall tower

A long-stalled Upper East Side development site once envisioned as the home of a 1,000-foot-plus skyscraper is back up for grabs — this time with a $360 million price tag.

The six-parcel assemblage at 143-161 E. 60th St., directly across from the Bloomingdale’s flagship and steps from Lexington Avenue, last traded for $300 million in 2015.

Now, more than a decade later, the seller is seeking $60 million more for the roughly 20,000-square-foot site, which offers about 283,000 square feet of development potential.

And unlike the last time the property changed hands, the old buildings that stood on the lot are now gone, leaving developers with a cleared site and a rare chance to make their mark on the Manhattan skyline.

The property’s zoning allows for residential or commercial development and, crucially, has previously been marketed as allowing a tower without a height limit — opening the door for a future developer to once again shoot for the sky.

But buying the dirt could be just the beginning of the bill.

Listing broker Marlon Schwarcz estimates that developing a high-end project on the site could require roughly $500 million on top of the land acquisition.

“Usually, you look at 2 times from whatever the acquisition price is” as a typical indication of the capital needed for a project, Schwarcz said. “Now, for the ultra-luxury, you go 3 times the original acquisition.”

At the $360 million asking price, that could put the overall investment needed for an ultra-luxury project in the neighborhood of $1 billion.

At the other end of the spectrum, Schwarcz said the site could be developed as affordable housing, which he estimated could cost roughly $100 million to $300 million to build.

Some of New York’s biggest builders are already circling.

Schwarcz said he has received offers from major developers, including players with projects on nearby Billionaires’ Row.

“I can’t say the names,” he said. “But what I can tell you, it’s top 10 — often people that are doing projects on Billionaires’ Row.”

Offers began arriving roughly 30 days after the property hit the market, he said, and Schwarcz believes a deal could be reached within about 90 days.

A decade of sky-high ambitions

Chinese developer Kuafu Properties bought the six-property assemblage from World Wide Group for $300 million in 2015, when its low-rise buildings included the longtime home of the beloved Subway Inn, which had been forced to relocate as redevelopment plans took shape.

Kuafu, led by Shang Dai and Zengliang “Denis” Shan, had much bigger ambitions for the corner.

The developer commissioned prominent architecture firms to dream up competing visions for the site — several of which could have extended the supertall boom that transformed Billionaires’ Row northeast toward Lenox Hill.

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners devised a 62-story, 1,000-foot residential tower in 2015, with a slender glass design rising above a retail base. Kohn Pedersen Fox later produced its own potential supertall concept as part of a private design competition, envisioning an exceptionally slender tower broken up by a series of setbacks and cutouts.

Archilier Architecture proposed perhaps the most audacious version: a roughly 1,240-foot tower with an inverted-taper design that widened as it rose, putting its largest floors — and prized Central Park views — near the top. At that height, it would have ranked among New York’s tallest residential skyscrapers.

None made it off the drawing board.

The project then became tangled up in a shakeup at Kuafu. In 2016, the Real Deal reported that Shan was leaving the development firm to launch his own venture, with the East 60th Street site among the projects going with him.

The assemblage ultimately ended up under Shan-controlled Sumi Properties.

The sheer amount of money required to build on the site helps explain the challenge facing any developer hoping to finally turn those sky-high ambitions into reality.

“If you don’t have enough investors that want to invest alongside with you, everything is on your shoulders,” Schwarcz said. “Regardless of how wealthy you are or how big you are, it’s very unlikely you’re going to accomplish this development.”

Years of work have nevertheless changed the property dramatically since its last sale. The six buildings have been demolished, leaving the assemblage cleared and ready for its next act.

The seller, meanwhile, isn’t desperate to make a deal.

“It all comes down to numbers,” Schwarcz said.