iStar buys eight-story Salvation Army building
Fifth Ave. structure vacant since 2004
A former Salvation Army residence for retirees has been purchased by iStar Financial for redevelopment.
The building, located on Fifth Avenue, has eight floors, as well as an extension to the east with four floors. It has been vacant since 2004, according to Brian Cheripka, iStar’s vice president of land.
The brick building [pictured above and to the right] is located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Kingsley Street, and overlooks Sunset Lake.
The building was originally purchased from the Salvation Army by a development group led by Fred Teicher called Teicher American Communities at the Majestic, Cheripka said. Their loan went into default, the property went undeveloped. Ultimately, PNC Bank foreclosed upon it.
A subsidiary of iStar Financial purchased the building from PNC Bank in August 2012. The property was taken back through a sheriff’s foreclosure sale in late November 2012, and iStar took title to the property again this January, Cheripka said.
“Over the coming weeks, we will be completing our environmental assessment of the property in order to address any potential issues and prepare the property for redevelopment,” Cheripka said in an email. “We have already begun preliminary discussions with the city on the future redevelopment of the property, but in the meantime, we have started cleaning up the site, which has been vacant since 2004.”
IStar is also finalizing amendments to the city’s waterfront redevelopment plan, in conjunction with the city.
“We are very pleased with the progress we’ve been making” on the plan, Cheripka said. “We believe this new level of cooperation will create tangible results for the entire community.”
