Paragon Paint Factory, New York
In Nov 2013, Quadrum in a joint venture with Simon Baron and CRE Development acquired the fee simple interest in the former Paragon Paint warehouse, an environmentally contaminated parcel that was zoned exclusively for industrial development of about 77,000 sq ft.
In Dec 2016, the joint venture completed environmental remediation required under the Brownfield Cleanup Program and was issued a Certificate of Completion, entitling it to New York State tax credits. While the Property was successfully remediated, numerous rezoning efforts, including Amazon’s HQ2 from 2015 through 2022 had failed – usually for political reasons.
However, in May 2022, Quadrum once again applied for a zoning variance at the Board of Standards and Appeals to permit the construction of a 200,000+ sf residential tower. Notwithstanding the difficulty of rezoning in New York due to its “as of right” zoning laws, Quadrum received zoning approvals to permit a 200,000 sq ft residential tower in May 2023.