Site Of Failed Uptown Development To Be Auctioned, Report Says

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS-INWOOD, NY — An Upper Manhattan development site that led to one New York City builder's financial downfall will be put up for sale, according to reports.

An auction is planned for the site — composed of two adjacent properties at 33 and 35 Overlook Terrace near West 184th Street — sometime in the next three months, Crain's New York Business reported. Developer Rutherford Thompson had planned to convert the vacant site into a 23-story, 114-unit apartment building, but the project ultimately resulted in bankruptcy.

Thompson and his lawyers confirmed to Crain's that the site will be offloaded in an auction marketed by Ariel Property Advisors. The lot can accommodate the development of a 146,000-square foot residential building with a 130,000-square-foot community facility as of right, according to the report.

The site, which sits on a hill, proved challenging to build on because the hill needs to be demolished in order to construct a building on the site. The 2008 economic crash also proved difficult to overcome for Thompson, who purchased the sites in 2006.

Thompson's failure to develop the site resulted in financial downfall, Crain's reported. The one-time real estate developer now works as a residential broker and told the publication "if I don't get any proceeds from this sale, I'll have absolutely nothing. No place to live. No money."

Read the full Crain's report here.