Developer & Disco Legend Moves Forward with Project on Vacant Site in NYC’s High Line

By: Ellen Cans

Jerry Noury, the real estate investor and inventor and 1970s and 80s disco legend, has filed plans to build on the vacant plot of land at the High Line in New York City. He has owned the land since the mid-1980’s.

As reported by Crain’s NY, Mr. Noury recently filed plans with the city to develop his site at 51 Little W. 12th St in the Meat Packing district. The planned construction would span roughly 15,000 square feet and be 11 stories or 131 feet tall, comprising of 12 residential units. The vacant land, located between Washington Street and 10th Avenue, was previously a run-down cabaret with X-rated-dancing back when the Meat Packing district was desolate. Noury told the WSJ that he paid roughly $500,000 for the property at the time. After purchasing the property, Noury had evicted people, and shut it down, turning it into a more reputable member-only after-hours club under the name RSVP, according to a 2007 article in amNY.

Back in the 70s and 80s, Noury was an iconic disco-era musical performer who had invented a patented wireless keyboard in the shape of an arrow, that shot out fire, water and shaving cream on to the stage for visual effects. The space he purchased, then a three-story building, was zoned for cabaret and adult use. He was interested in it initially as a place where could give performances on his arrow keyboard and also have an after-hours club. The club had enjoyed success, even after he was no longer the regular performer, and at its height RSVP would rake in about $25,000 a month. In 1990, however, Noury was seriously injured in a car accident, and there was the tragic Happy Land social club fire, prompting Noury to permanently shutter RSVP. The site has since been razed and is now a vacant lot.

By the mid-2000s, other developments on the High Line gained popularity, and property prices in the area began to soar. Most notably, the 18-story luxury Standard Hotel, with 338 guest rooms, opened nearby at 848 Washington Street in 2009, with great success.

That’s when Mr. Noury first thought about turning his property into a “mini-inn”- some 10 to 12 stories tall with 40 rooms, three restaurants and areas for stem cell research and physical therapy. The ambitious plans didn’t end up actualizing. A Wall Street Journal article in 2011 had reported that Noury listed the property for sale with high hopes of co-developing it into a 10-story building, which would include an outdoor garden, gallery, restaurant and become a tourists destination in the newly trending meatpacking district.

He told the paper that he spoke to numerous investors, including Andre Balazs, the developer of the nearby Standard; Neil Bender, a heirs of William Gottlieb, who was a major owner of property in the area; and Williams & Williams, an auction company and investor. No sales seem to have taken place, though, as per city records. Now, at the age of about 78, Noury has taken the plunge on his own, filing permits to develop the property.