Less than two months after the failure of a previous bid, an iconic New York building, the "Flatiron," was sold at auction Tuesday, May 23 for $161 million to a group of buyers led by real estate developer Jeff Gural, the company that organized the sale said. The sale took place outdoors in lower Manhattan in front of a hundred people, and seven buyers were registered, Mannion Auctions told AFP.
Jeff Gural, 80, is no stranger to the "Flatiron," as he represents 75 percent of the owners of the iron-shaped building. A 22-story, 87-meter-high office building at the intersection of 22nd Street, Fifth Avenue and Broadway, the "Flatiron" was built in 2 years and completed in 1902, in the Beaux-Arts style. Its pointed shape, recognizable among all and which gave it its name, is explained by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, the only artery of Manhattan not aligned with the rectilinear plan of the island.
The "Iron" was empty since 2019
On March 23, the building was sold for the first time for $ 190 million, under order of the city, to settle a dispute between its owners. But the buyer, financier Jacob Garlick, founder of the investment fund Abraham Trust, had not paid the $ 19 million in advance as of March 24. The building could have already gone to Jeff Gural, boss of GFP Real Estate, who had offered $ 189.5 million, but the latter preferred to wait for new auctions to be organized.
The "Iron" had been empty since 2019 when its last tenant, MacMillan Publishers, left. The five owners had not been able to agree on its renovation or use. Four real estate companies - GFP Real Estate, Newmark, ABS Real Estate Partners and the Sorgente Group - controlled it at 75%. The fifth partner, Nathan Silverstein, controlled the remaining 25%. In 2021, the four companies sued Nathan Silverstein, accusing him of leaving the "Flatiron" empty. The municipal justice had ordered the owners to sell the building at auction.
