the iconic flatiron building in new yorklocated in midtown Manhattan, it was sold at a private auction, ending a dispute between its owner that had kept it empty for four years.
The buyer is Jacob Garlick, founding partner of Abraham Trust, a fund specializing in various investment transactions, who, as soon as the sale was completed, declared on NY1 television: “It was A dream I’ve had all my life since I was 14. Our mission will be to always respect its integrity”, in reference to its historical and architectural singularity.
The auction had only two protagonists: Garlick and another real estate investor, Jeffrey Gural, by GFP Real Estate; According to the same chain, the offer lasted 45 minutes, in which the two tycoons were raising their opponent’s price by half a million.
Numerous people, both from real estate and architecture lovers, came to witness this unique auction that it had been ordered by a judge to end an interminable dispute between its co-owners, who were four real estate companies (including GFP) and a businessman.
Anyway, the conditions of the auction are leonine: If Garlick doesn’t put 10% on the table on Friday, ie 19 million, the building goes to the second bidder, and if he doesn’t even have that amount, it’s put back up for auction.
The Flatiron, built in 1902 on a triangular base (at the intersection of Broadway and Fifth Avenue) and overlooking Madison Square Park, it has been empty since 2019 its last remaining tenant, the McMillan Publishers company, which occupied its 21 heights.
Designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick Dinkelberg, became one of the tallest buildings in the city upon its completion, and was also for several years one of only two “skyscrapers” located north of 14th Street; the other was the nearby Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, completed in 1909.
It is not clear what fate the new owner will give to the skyscraperwhether it will be an office building as was its initial function, a luxury hotel or a luxury condominium.
Loser Gural, imitating the famous fable of the fox and the grapes, said after the auction: “I’m a bit hallucinated, the truth. I never thought that someone would bid so high for the building. It’s a beautiful propertybut he needs 100 million to prepare it, now it’s practically empty”.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.