Loft Owners Pay Developer $11M Not To Ruin Views, Report Says

CHELSEA, NY — A group of Chelsea loft owners paid a developer $11 million to protect their views, the New York Times reported.

The group of residents at a 12-story building joined forces back in 2016 when they discovered Gary Barnett of Extell Development planned to build 145-foot condo building at Seventh Avenue and West 17th Street, the Times reported.

The new building would have risen adjacent to their L-shaped building, blocking views from some residents' windows, the Times reported.

To stop Barnett, the loft owners bought the development rights, often called air rights, from him to prevent the existing set of three- and four-story buildings from being replaced with anything taller.

John Muse, a loft owner at the West 17th building whose adult children live in the building, said he may have paid about $1 million, though he admitted he couldn't remember exactly how much, the Times wrote.

"It was expensive," Muse told the Times. "I wouldn't say prohibitively expensive. But expensive."

Barnett told the Times: "Most of the time, they sue you and try and stop you somehow. These people stepped up to the plate and paid market value for the building rights."

Click here to read the full New York Times report.