Wealthy Manhattan residents dished out $11 million to keep a new building from blocking their views of the Empire State Building
- Wealthy residents in one Manhattan building dished out $11 million to protect their views of the Empire State Building, according to The New York Times.
- The deal was struck in 2016 after a developer decided to build a 145-foot building next door.
- The deal follows a history of wealthy Manhattan residents willing to dish out large amounts to get what they want.
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Who said money can't solve your problems?
According to The New York Times' David Goodman, residents of a 12-story building in Chelsea paid $11 million to stop a next-door development from obstructing their city views.
In 2016, Extell Development announced its plans to build a 145-foot condominium next to the building. About a week later, Goodman reported, residents sat down with the developer looking to buy air rights.
The developer agreed to cease construction plans - for a fixed price. Although originally higher than $11 million, residents were able to talk down the multimillion-dollar payoff, According Goodman.
The $11 million was split among the building's residents. According to Goodman, the amount each resident paid depended on which floor their apartment was on. Just a few months after the initial sit-down, the deal was finalized and the residents claimed ownership to the air rights around the building - officially securing their city views.
The pricey deal for some empty space and a view is far from the first time the city's wealthy residents have dished out millions for something they've wanted. Just consider the millionaire couple tearing through a street on the Upper West Side to build a $100 million mansion replete with a 60-foot pool.
The couple knocked down the majority of two brownstones to construct a mega-mansion that will include, according to an April report from The New York Times, "an underground theater and a recording studio, a Jacuzzi and a sauna, free-floating elliptical stairs (whatever that might be) and a wall of sculpture depicting trees, animals and birds of the jungle."