October 21, 2015

Durst Wants Zoning Change for Dealership at Pyramid Building

By Anson Wycoff

The Durst Organization’s pyramid building on the western end of may soon attract people in the market for a new car.

The building, designed by , will house 709 rental units when it’s finished in 2016, 142 of which will be affordable. It is one of three developments Durst is constructing between 11th and 12th Avenues and West 57th and West 58th Streets. The apartment building at 625 West 57th Street is in the center of an area undergoing redevelopment that was once

Douglas Durst and a rendering of the retail at characterized by shipping depots and auto 625 West 57th Street dealerships.

Alan Weisman, an executive managing director at Lee & Associates, spoke to Commercial Observer about the current situation. “The dealerships, the ones that are ensconced, they’re in great shape,” said Weisman. “If you’re an auto dealer who needs to expand or needs to get a position on that avenue, you have difficulty because there’s nothing there.”

The Durst Organization is only the most recent landlord on the Far West Side to entertain the possibility of an auto dealership as a retail tenant. The business move is similar to ones made by developers such as TF Cornerstone and Two Trees Management. TF Cornerstone’s 660 Twelfth Avenue property is set to house a 300,000- square foot Toyota dealership, while Two Trees sold a 330,000-square foot retail condo to Mercedes-Benz in 2010.

Bringing a full-service dealership to Via 57 West, the official name for the western side of the building, will not be an easy task for Durst. Although an auto sales floor is allowed at the pyramid, the Durst Organization needs to approve a zoning amendment in order for the property to house a service and repair shop. Durst’s application is currently under review by the Department of City Planning.

Residential zoning laws haven’t prevented landlords from building a garage or showroom in the base of their buildings. However, dealerships attempting to move or expand are already experiencing the impact of the real estate boom.

For auto dealerships to survive in the city, they may need to downsize their spaces and utilize technology to display inventory, Brad Cohen, senior director of the retail leasing division for Eastern Consolidated, told Commercial Observer.

“The highest and best use for these buildings is not to be auto showrooms, but development,” Cohen said. “I’m not saying we don’t need auto showrooms in Manhattan. I’m just saying we don’t need 50,000-square-foot showrooms in Manhattan. These dealers are going to realize they’ve got all this space that’s being underutilized.”

The Durst Organization already signed the Livanos Restaurant Group to 7,000 square feet at the base of the building. The space allotted for the prospective car dealership encompasses 35,000 square feet.