A 10,000-square-foot church on a site where a 100,000-square-foot tower could be constructed would have 90,000 square feet of unused development rights to sell.

If it had to buy 120,000 square feet of development rights, it might expect to pay more than $10 million.

As built, the theaters have use of 1.1 million square feet of development rights.

But the figure is probably nowhere near three million square feet of unused development rights on theater sites.

"I saw the market moving west, and I had 80,000 square feet of development rights to peddle," he said.

It sold 35,000 square feet of development rights.

Under the plan, theater owners must turn over $10 per square foot of sold development rights to a city-controlled fund.

All told, Rockefeller Center has about 2 million square feet of unused development rights.

As approved, it is to use 506,000 square feet of development rights.

A number of theaters in question have more than 100,000 square feet of available development rights each.