Built in two years and completed in 1902, the “Flatiron” was built by an architect from the Chicago school, Daniel Burnham, in the Beaux-Arts style. (Photo: Getty Images)
New York — It is an essential and emblematic skyscraper of New York: the “Flatiron” with its very particular architecture from the beginning of the 20th century was sold at auction on Wednesday for 190 million dollars, under a court order from the city to settle a dispute between its owners.
It was financier Jacob Garlick, founder of the investment fund Abraham Trust, who took away this “Iron”, empty since 2019, commissioner Matthew Mannion of the auction company Mannion Auctions confirmed to AFP on Thursday. .
The buyer will have to pay by Friday evening “10% of this amount – 19 million dollars – otherwise the property will go to the second bidder, Jeff Gural, who represented 75% of the owners and offered 189.5 million dollars,” according to Mr. Mannion.
The “Flatiron Building” is a 22-story, 87-meter high office building located in Midtown Manhattan, at the intersection of 22nd Street, Fifth Avenue and Broadway.
Its pointed shape, in “Iron”, recognizable among all and which gave it its name, is explained by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, the only avenue in Manhattan which is not aligned on the rectilinear plane. from the island.
Built in two years and completed in 1902, the “Flatiron” was built by an architect from the Chicago School, Daniel Burnham, in the Beaux-Arts style, like many New York buildings, for example the huge train station Great Center.
The loser, Mr. Gural, said he was “a little shocked” on local television NY1 that “someone had bid so much for this piece of the city’s heritage”.
“It’s a nice building, but it needs $100 million in renovations,” he warned.
“It’s been a dream since I was 14,” rejoiced the lucky winner, Mr. Garlick, on the same channel, pledging to “preserve his integrity forever.”
The “Iron” had been empty since 2019 when its last tenant, publisher MacMillan Publishers, left.
The five owners could not agree on its renovation, nor on its 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 Silverstein, accusing him of leaving the “Flatiron” empty. Silverstein fought back in a New York court alleging that they wanted to lease the skyscraper below market, according to CNBC television.
The municipal justice ordered the five owners to sell at auction.
