Extell Closes on 10th Avenue Parcel for Holl's Wacky Tower

Maverick developer Gary Barnett and his Extell Development Company have closed on a sliver of Port Authority-owned land at 31st Street and 10th Avenue for about $17 million, property records show. The 7,500-square-foot piece of land was the final parcel needed by Extell in preparation for its planned 61-story, 780,000-square-foot mixed-use tower set to rise, as the company had been assembling a lot around a former Stuart Dean-owned building for years.

The developers have been reticent to release any renderings of their skinny tower, though their offbeat architect, Steven Holl, revealed a decidedly un-detailed, blurry image of the wavy structure on the Charlie Rose show earlier this year, providing fodder for the blogosphere.

The planned tower, which could connect to the High Line viaduct-turned-parkland, sits just across the street from the Western rail yards where Extell has submitted a bid to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to develop the 26-acre site.

While designs of the bids have yet to be shown to the public, perhaps Extell is planning something to match the 31st Street tower. Their architect for the massive complex: Steven Holl.