Block-Swallowing UES Mega Development Is Getting Bigger: Reports

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A planned development that will occupy an entire Upper East Side block is getting bigger, according to reports.

Extell Development has struck a deal with the Church of Saint Monica, located on East 79th Street between First and York Avenues, to buy more than 100,000 square feet of development rights, real estate publication The Real Deal first reported.

Developers are reportedly paying the Roman Catholic church $35.8 million for the development rights, the Real Deal reported. The sale does not include any of the church's property, an attorney representing the church told the Real Deal. Extell will have an option to scoop up an additional 6,748 square feet of rights for an added price of $250 per square foot, according to the report.

The development rights will likely be added to a planned development on First Avenue between East 80th and 79th streets. Extell and its subsidiary companies filed plans to demolish 1514-1528 First Ave. at the beginning of May, according to public records.

Each of the block's buildings is a four-story low rise with ground-floor retail space and apartments.

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. The new development will likely consist of a residential tower with a school building at its base, Barnett told the Real Deal in March.

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