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250 Water Street rendering South Street Seaport Lower Manhattan Howard Hughes Corporation

Howard Hughes Acquires Air Rights for 250 Water St. Project

Howard Hughes Holdings has acquired air rights from the city for its long-planned 250 Water St. residential project in the Seaport District, according to New York City Department of Finance records. The payment grants the developer air rights over Piers 16 and 17.

The air rights agreement between Howard Hughes and the city dates from 2021. At that time, the developer agreed to pay $40 million for air rights it would use to develop its 399-unit apartment tower, with part of the payment going to support the nonprofit South Street Seaport Museum.

In the interim, the project became the subject of a court challenge from nearby residents. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engeron sided with the residents, ruling in late 2022 that the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission and Howard Hughes had established an “impermissible” quid pro quo relationship. A state appeals court overturned the lower court ruling in 2023.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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