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Spurred by zoning changes and a rapidly improving market for residential buildings, real estate speculators are flocking to Eighth Avenue, making it one of the hottest real estate areas in the city.
Theater owner James Nederlander has quietly amassed a 140-foot-long development site between 47th and 48th streets. The property at 772 Eighth Ave. abuts the Biltmore Theatre on W. 47th St., which Mr. Nederlander bought last year.
Two blocks north, a huge parking lot at 49th Street across from Worldwide Plaza is for sale for more than $20 million. The parcel was bought only last year by Morgan Stanley & Co.
And the city is trying to sell its full-block parking garage between 53rd and 54th streets. Economic Development Corp. President Charles Millard says that the city received bids exceeding $10 million by the Feb. 12 deadline, although he won't specify how many proposals were made.
"There's a window of opportunity," says Robert B. Pauls, a planner and consultant who has studied the area. "It's attractive because it sits between a residential area and midtown. There's no doubt that it's in play."
Developers are increasingly convinced that the market for residential condominiums is gathering strength. About 1,000 new...