It’s the end of the road for the giant iguana parked at 240 West 54th Street for two decades.
A Flushing, Queens-based developer has reclaimed the old home in Iguana New York and is replacing the defunct Latin restaurant and dance club with a residential development, Commercial Observer has learned.
Hiwin Group USA bought the five-story building between Broadway and Eighth Avenue from Minerva Realty for $21 million, according to real estate records made public Tuesday.
Iguana took over the building’s back three floors about 20 years ago from the Lone Star Boat Club, an outdated social club that had little to do with boats, but Iguana closed its doors this year.
The yacht club has long endowed its headquarters grounds with an indoor swimming pool, as well as racquetball and basketball courts, but it’s been decades since those amenities were used. When Ariel Property Advisors put the assets up for sale, prospective buyers were less interested in reviving it than tapping into the 47,000 square feet of unused residential progression rights on the land, according to Ariel’s Christoffer Brodhead, who negotiated the deal with Howard Raber and Nikola. Cosic.
“It’s right in the center of Midtown, so it would be a wonderful site for a hotel,” Brodhead said. “But the uncertainty and unforeseen occasions of obtaining a special permit for such a small hotel meant that it did not come to fruition. be the most productive option.
Precise plans for Hiwin’s residential assets are unclear, but the developer also recently acquired another growth site in Manhattan at 112 Liberty Street earlier this year, as CO previously reported.
A spokesman for Hiwin declined to comment. Iguana’s owners and a representative for Minerva did not respond to requests for comment.
Abigail Nehring can be reached at anehring@commercialobserver. com.
Read the Commercial Observer edition online!