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December 15, 2006
Developers abandoning condo deals
Flagging market has owners converting to hotel projects as demand soars
Crain's NY Business
Here's more evidence that there isn't a market for hi-end starchitect-designed high-rise condos, so why are we giving Bruce Ratner free rein to build with impunity?
For the past two years, the Chetrit Group has been moving full-steam ahead with plans to convert the Empire Hotel into 125 luxury condominiums. But now that fast-paced condo sales have braked, the developer is switching gears and repositioning the dowdy building across from Lincoln Center as a 440-room upscale hotel.
More developers are finding that the speediest exit strategy from the faltering condo market is to sell their projects to hotel operators anxious to expand in New York. In some cases, developers have tried to market their projects to condo buyers first but end up choosing to cash out quickly because of sluggish sales. Others, like the Chetrit Group, are making the move even before they begin marketing. The company did not return calls for comment.
Posted by lumi at December 15, 2006 5:37 PM