Legion Investment Buys West Chelsea Site for $87 Million

Victor Sigoura’s Legion Investment Group has taken a West Side development site off the board.

The developer bought the 20,000-square-foot parcel at 550 West 21st Street in West Chelsea for $87 million, records show.

The site, across from Chelsea Piers on the West Side Highway, can yield a mixed-use development of up to 172,000 square feet.

The southeast corner parcel of West 21st Street and 11th Avenue is the “final undeveloped lot on the [West Chelsea] waterfront,” a Legion representative said in a statement.

Deutsche Bank supplied a $56 million acquisition loan for the deal, arranged by Walker & Dunlop’s Aaron Appel and Jonathan Schwartz.

Sigoura has tapped Corcoran Sunshine to market and sell what will be “a landmark project,” he said, although the developer is not yet seeking construction financing.

Legion bought the site out of bankruptcy for $5 million more than it sold for in 2014, when land prices last reached a high-water mark in New York City.

Uri Chaitchik’s Casco Development had planned a 20-story condo project with a $539 million sellout price, but when the project went belly up, Chaitchik sought Chapter 11 protection. To achieve a similar sellout price, Legion would need to bring in about $3,100 per square foot.

Early this year, a penthouse at One High Line in West Chelsea commanded more than $6,600 per square foot for a closing price of $49 million. A condo offering at the site would be among the largest in New York’s new development pipeline, which has narrowed.

Secured and unsecured debt at Chaitchik’s failed project came to more than $250 million, meaning many equity owners likely lost their investment. Unsecured investors included art dealer David Zwirner, who had a $28.75 million claim, and JLL president Peter Riguardi, whose $958,000 claim was disputed at the time.

Legion’s site includes the foundation Chaitchik poured for his unrealized project. A Legion representative said the existing foundation would “result in significant time and cost savings for the future development on the site.”

Legion is also negotiating to develop a potential blockbuster condominium on Gramercy Park.