Development plummeted this year, but sector still shows signs of life

Third Avenue in Mott Haven is slated to look quite different in the near future.

A building that has been featured on the big screen and was once home to J.L. Mott, after whom Mott Haven was named, is up for sale.

The Beethoven Piano Factory at 2403 Third Ave., located directly in between Brookfield Properties mega-development “Bankside” and RXR Realty’s newly planned 200-unit complex, is on the market for $11.5 million.

The five-story building was built in 1882 for Jordan Lawrence Mott and his firm the J. L. Mott Iron Works. The firm’s name is still etched in designed brickwork on the facade facing the river.

The famed building has also been featured in numerous films such as “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” with Ben Stiller, a Sundance documentary: “Mott Music”, “The Final Note” and “The Piano Tuner.”

The site is zoned M1-3/R8 within the Special Harlem River Waterfront District rezoning area. This zoning allows for a total of 55,067 square feet of residential, 59,458 facility and 45,737 commercial.

Development

As plans to sell the famed Beethoven Piano factory in Mott Haven were announced, permits were also just filed to build a 27-story apartment building next to it.

RXR Realty, owner of the property at 2413 Third Ave., purchased the site for $23.7 million in March. The plans detailed the construction of a new 297-feet-tall, 165,000-square-foot apartment building with 200 units inside.

Demolition permits were filed April 22. CetraRuddy Architecture is listed as the architect for the project.

A spokesman for RXR said the plan is to develop a mix of market rate and affordable housing under the 421A program.

It is located adjacent to Brookfield Properties’ mega-development dubbed “Bankside” which will be over 1 million square feet and have 1,350 apartments, 15,000-square-feet of retail space, an educational and community center and a public waterfront park and promenade and 2403 Third Ave.