Sutton Place Residents Get a Harsh Lesson in NYC Real Estate

July 7, 2015 — That's not a Jenga tower, folks. That is a rendering of what will be one of the tallest residential towers in the city, standing at a vertigo-inducing 900 feet, 90 stories. Bauhouse Group, the developer, does not seem interested in making sure the new colossus fits in to old-school Manhattan neighborhood Sutton Place. And longtime residents feel duped. According to the New York Daily News, the neighborhood's "longtime residents… thought they were getting a new luxury apartment next door that would be 13 stories tall — 30 at most." So, in December 2014, the luxury developer met with residents of 434 East 58th Street to discuss the matter of air rights. The Daily News reports that "according to minutes of the Dec. 22 meeting, a shareholder asked Bauhouse executive Christopher Jones for details, including whether it would be 'a 100-story building.' Jones replied that he was 'unsure of exact height' and that 'air rights would be a factor,' but the tower 'will not be 100 stories, as of now expected to be 13 stories.'" The co-op's shareholders voted to sell its air rights to the developer for $11 million, figuring that "30 stories wasn't completely out of character" for the holdover neighborhood that's been home to Vanderbilts, Morgans, and Marilyn Monroe. But "on April 7, Bauhouse put out a full-color brochure of a 90-story 'ultraluxury' skyscraper," leaving the shareholders feeling mislead. Now it looks like it's a game of he said/she said, with a spokesperson for Bauhouse claiming the minutes aren't accurate and the shareholder who took them insisting they are, indeed, correct. Talk about getting a harsh lesson in the cutthroat world of New York City real estate: Luxury tower style. 

Rendering of 426-432 East 58th Street/Bauhouse Group