ABS Partners seeks zoning change for 378K sf, approximately 394-unit mixed-use tower in Hell’s Kitchen

An entity affiliated with ABS Partners Real Estate and Modell Investment Team, 515 West 57th Street Leasehold LLC, submitted a proposal yesterday seeking a zoning change to develop a 377,970-square-foot, mixed residential and commercial development with approximately 394 dwelling units at 515 West 57th Street in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. An estimated 119 of the residential units would be affordable, the filing says. This is an application that will be heard through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP).

The application seeks to rezone the target property, 515 West 57th Street (outlined in red), but the application if approved would also rezone three additional properties: a 368,195-square-foot office condominium building at 521 West 57th Street (outlined in blue); a 11,380-square-foot auto body shop at 505 West 57th Street (outlined in yellow); and a 67,511-square foot hotel at 534 West 58th Street, built in approximately 2014 (outlined in green).

File 2025M0360 LINK

ABS Partners Real Estate and Randy Modell’s Modell Investment Team through the entity 515 West 57th Street Leasehold LLC signed a 75-year ground lease with Eric Duke through the entity 513-519 West 57th Street, LLC for the office building (O2) at 515 West 57th Street in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, PincusCo reported in October 2025. The city valued the lease at $17.2 million.

Eric Duke is the owner of the television production company started by his father Anton Duke, called All Mobile Video, which leases studio space and gear to the film and television production industry, including at this location.
The lease deal closed on October 22, 2025 and was recorded on October 27, 2025. The property has 46,000 square feet of built space and 59,010 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 105,000 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The transfer price per built square foot is $375 and the price per buildable square foot is $164 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The signatory for Eric Duke was Eric Duke. The signatory for ABS Partners Real Estate  and Modell Investment Team was Randy Modell. This is a 75-year lease with a purchase option.

The proposal says it is a, “private application for a zoning map amendment from M1-5(CL) to a C6-12(CL) and a zoning text amendment to establish the project area as an MIH area, to facilitate a new 30-story, approximately 377,970-square-foot mixed residential and commercial development with approximately 394 dwelling units total (119 affordable) at 515 West 57th Street in the Special Clinton District, Community District 4, Manhattan.”

Crain’s New York reported on the filing yesterday.

The property

The office building in Hell’s Kitchen has 46,000 square feet of built space and 59,010 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 105,000 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 100 feet and is 200 feet deep with a total lot size of 21,000 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is M1-5 which allows for up to 5 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $10.4 million.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

This property was sold by Eric Duke for $17.2 million to ABS Partners Real Estate|Modell Investment Team on October 22, 2025.

The 46,000-square-foot property generated revenue of $2 million or $43 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has received $1,310 in OATH penalties in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Hell’s Kitchen, The bulk, or 39 percent of the 40.8 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 18 percent of the space. In sales, Hell’s Kitchen has the 8th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.4 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Hell’s Kitchen has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 26th highest in Manhattan. It had 1.4 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of four of the nine commercial properties representing 182,052 square feet of the 213,988 square feet. The largest owner is Gene Jiyoon Park, followed by Mcsam Hotel Group and then Modell Investment Team. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The owner

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Abs Partners Real Estate owned at least eight commercial properties with one residential unit in New York City with 202,710 square feet and a city-determined market value of $62.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 80 percent of the 202,710 square feet of built space are office properties, with industrial properties next occupying 10 percent of the space. The bulk, or 69 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Queens next at 31 percent of the space.

The surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 519 West 57 Street, PincusCo identified five commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. Of those five items, two were sales above $5 million totaling $181.5 million. The most recent of the two was McSam Hotel Group which bought the 67,511-square-foot, one-unit hotel (H2) on 534 West 58th Street for $7.8 million from McSam Hotel Group and John Silviano on November 13, 2025. Of those five items, three were loans above $5 million totaling $221.5 million. The most recent of the three was McSam Hotel Group in which borrowed $65.5 million from Citibank secured by the 67,511-square-foot, one-unit hotel (H2) on 534 West 58th Street on November 13, 2025.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.