Three More Buildings On Vacant UES Block To Be Demolished

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Developers have filed plans with the city to demolish three buildings on an Upper East Side just more than one month after submitting plans to tear down the site of a former diner on the street.

Extell Development is seeking permits to knock down three adjacent buildings at 1637, 1639 and 1641 First Avenue, according to public records. The four-story buildings have stood vacant — along with the rest of the block — since the developers bought the properties in 2018.

Plans filed with the city did not specify when demolition is expected to begin.

Extell filed plans in December to tear down a six-story brick building on the corner of First Avenue and East 86th Street that was previously occupied by popular neighborhood eatery Gracie's Corner Diner & Grill, which has relocated to the corner of Second Avenue.

The block appears to be the site of Extell's next block-swallowing development on the Upper East Side. The development firm owns the entire block and corner properties on East 85th and 86th streets through four LLC companies — 350 EAST 86 LLC, TFO85 LLC, First NY LLC and 1651 First LLC — according to city records. Extell and the Bank of the Ozarks have agreed to a $108 million loan on the properties, according to public records.

Developers have filed plans to demolish all but two buildings on the block — 1647 and 1651 First Avenues. Plans to demolish 350 East 85th Street were filed in 2017, plans to demolish 351 East 85th Street were filed in December 2018.

Extell is no stranger to building full-block developments on the Upper East Side. The firm is already behind one of the largest planned developments in the neighborhood on First Avenue between East 80th and 79th streets. Work to dismantle buildings on the block began in August after Extell filed plans with the city in May to demolish the entire block.

In March, Extell Development's Gary Barnett told real estate publication The Real Deal that he plans to develop a mixed-use building with at least 250,000 square feet of buildable space on the block. In May, Extell struck a deal with the Church of Saint Monica to add as much as 100,000 square feet in air rights to the planned development.

No building plans have been filed for any of the properties located on First Avenue between East 85th and 86th streets.

Photo by Google Maps street view