LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

If you were to open a new brick-and-mortar bookstore, New York City would be a very pricey place to do it. Manhattan boasts some of the world's most valuable land - and, as it turns out - air. And that is our last word in business this morning.

Developers paid more than $40 million for the empty space above Christ Church on Park Avenue at 60th Street. The New York Times reports that zoning laws allow for a structure taller than the church to be built on its land, and that the church can transfer its unused development rights to an adjacent property owner, for a price.

So what will Christ Church's new neighbor look like? A 51-story tower, with apartments expected to fetch $8,000 per square foot.

And that is the business news on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

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