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MTA Sells SoHo Fruit Stand For $26 Million
By
Nell Casey
Published Jul 24, 2013
Modified Jul 24, 2013
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Jen Carlson/Gothamist
By
Nell Casey
Published Jul 24, 2013
Modified Jul 24, 2013
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The MTA knows there's always money in the banana stand, to the tune of $26 million if it's on a coveted SoHo corner. According to the Washington Square Journal, real estate investment firm Madison Capital purchased the 6,190-square foot plot of land on the south east side of Houston and Broadway on Monday. “We had not predicted anything like this kind of money for this … somewhat oddly shaped triangular parcel down in Soho,” revealed MTA director of real estate Jeffrey Rosen. “This is a splendid result.”
The lot at 19 East Houston currently houses a small fruit stand, which some locals deemed "sketchy and dirty." The MTA also uses the strip of pavement as a staging area for trucks during subway emergencies, which makes us wonder how we'll be rescued in the future. Madison Capital plans to bring an "exciting commercial development" to the spot, which in their vernacular probably means get ready for a really exciting hybrid 7-Eleven/bank vestibule!
The MTA also gets a parking lot on East 20th Street as part of the deal, which Madison Capital will purchase for $13 million and then hand off so the MTA can store trucks in it. This brings the MTA's bounty to nearly $40 million in cash and gained property value, but the WSJ notes that the agency won't get to keep all of the $26 million check. The city could take some of it as part of the terms of its $250 million pledge to the MTA's capital spending plan. Either way, the transit agency can always make a few extra bucks by renaming the Broadway-Lafayette station for Capital One.
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