The chairman and CEO of New Empire Corp. has applied for demolition permits for four four-story buildings located at 247 East 31st Street and 563, 567 and 569 Second Avenue, Crain’s reported. The clearance will pave the way for a 14-story apartment project with approximately 130 units and ground-floor retail.
The filings come a month after Zhao, through Nere Rose Hill Management, paid $37.9 million for the properties. Leslie Ling, a senior development manager at New Empire, told the company that the company is targeting a completion of the project in the fourth quarter of 2029, although development plans have not yet been submitted to the Department of Buildings.
Located between East 31st and East 32nd streets, the complex includes 60 rental apartments, all occupied, along with retail space that includes a Verizon store. One storefront previously housed Marchi’s Restaurant, a family-run Italian restaurant that closed in 2019 after 90 years in business.
Seller Dean Marchi parted ways with the buildings through a trio of entities tied to his family.
The existing apartments have market-based rents. A three-bedroom, two-bath unit last rented in November for $4,750, according to StreetEasy, offering a snapshot of the revenue stream Zhao is about to wipe out in favor of a product for sale.
The planned development adds to New Empire’s significant footprint in the neighborhood. In Kips Bay, Zhao’s track record includes a 55-unit condo project at 148 East 24th Street and a 59-unit project at 429 Second Avenue.
The company has been involved in about 120 projects as a developer or builder in less than two decades, it previously told the publication.
Kips Bay is also home to Naftali Group’s The Willow at 201 East 23rd Street, one of the most expensive condo projects in Manhattan last year.
In 2023, Naftali paid $21.5 million to lease the site for 99 years from Snake River Development, an entity of BNS Real Estate. The 19-story brick facade, designed by Cookfox, will include 69 units, a private courtyard, a rooftop terrace, a fitness center and a screening room.
— Holden Walter Warner
Read more
These were Manhattan’s 10 most expensive condo projects in 2025
Naftali submits plans for the Kips Bay housing project
New Empire is planning an ambitious apartment in quiet Woodside
#Empire #130unit #Kips #Bay #apartment #plan