new York
Flatiron Building auctioned for $161 million
After the auction, Jeff Gural (l) is handed a pen by auctioneer Matthew Mannion. photo
© Christina Horsten/dpa
The first attempt failed spectacularly: the famous “iron building” was auctioned off for 190 million dollars – but then there was a problem with the down payment. Now it’s under the hammer.
New York’s famous “Iron Building” has been auctioned for $161 million (about 150 million euros) in the second attempt. After a roughly half-hour contest with around half a dozen bidders on the steps in front of a Manhattan courthouse, auctioneer Matthew Mannion’s gavel fell yesterday at this sum – bid by real estate developer Jeff Gural, who already owns part of the triangular building.
Cheers and clapping broke out in the audience, Gural himself also cheered briefly and shook Mannion’s hand. “I had no idea what to expect, but it’s a great relief to finally own the whole building,” Gural said shortly afterwards.
Deposit did not arrive on time
At the previous auction at the end of March, the real estate developer had to admit defeat: A man who posed as Jacob Garlick and worked as an employee of an investment company, but had not previously appeared in the highly competitive New York real estate scene, went with a bid of 190 million dollars as the winner of the auction. After the hammer fell that time, he got on his knees and wept. Managing the triangular Flatiron Building will be the “mission of our lives,” he said.
However, he did not make an initial down payment of 19 million dollars on time – and his right to the purchase expired. For him, Garlick, with whom he has had contact in the meantime, is a “fraud” and he has sued him, said Gural, who has partially owned the Flatiron Building for decades.
The auctions were ordered by a judge after a dispute broke out between the five previous owners over the future of the building. The real estate companies GFP Real Estate, Newmark, ABS Real Estate Partners and Sorgente Group together owned 75 percent of the building, and the real estate developer Nathan Silverstein owned the remaining 25. After the sale, the total amount of which will be offset against the previous owner’s share, are then Gural and his partners are the sole owners of the famous building – excluding Silverstein.
New York history on 21 floors
The triangular Flatiron Building is one of New York’s most popular attractions. The approximately 90 meter high building, which can also be seen in numerous films and television series, was opened in 1902 – at the intersection of Broadway, 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue in the middle of Manhattan. Up until a few years ago, Macmillan Publishers rented all 21 floors of the building. Since moving out, it has been empty and is currently partially scaffolded.
The original plan was to leave the “iron building” as an office building, said auction winner Gural. However, he is now considering converting at least the upper part into luxury apartments. The future of the famous building is very important to him, he even has a large picture of it in his apartment. “There are three iconic buildings in New York – the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and the Flatiron Building.”