If you’ve ever wanted to own a piece of New York City history, you will soon have the chance.
The Flatiron Building is going for up sale at Mannion Auctions on March 22. A State Supreme Court judge made the ruling after a group of developers failed to resolve a dispute over renovations at the landmarked property.
Four real estate firms — GFP Real Estate, Newmark, ABS Real Estate Partners, and the Sorgente Group —own a collective 75% stake in the 22-story skyscraper, while a fifth partner, Nathan Silverstein, owns the remaining 25%.
The four real estate firms sued Silverstein in 2021 to force a sale of their stakes after alleging the fifth partner’s business decisions were keeping the Flatiron Building empty.
Silverstein countersued the four partners claiming that they wanted to lease the building at a below-market price to a company linked to one of the owners, Newmark.
The Flatiron Building was designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick Dinkelberg and completed in 1902.
Alexander Spatari | Moment | Getty Images
The Flatiron Building has been empty since the last tenant, Macmillian Publishers, moved out in 2019.
An opening bid has not been announced, but Mannion Auctions confirmed to Hyperallergic that the sale is public, so anyone can bid — though the four majority owners are looking to hold on to the iconic 121-year-old building.
Mannion Auctions did not immediately respond to CNBC Make It’s request for comment.
GFP Real Estate Chairman Jeffrey Gural told Hyperallergic that if they win the auction and retain full ownership of the Flatiron Building, they plan to rent it floor-by-floor instead of leasing the whole thing to a single tenant.
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