Flatiron Building To Be Converted Into Residential By New Ownership Venture
Five months after one of Manhattan’s most iconic office buildings was sold at auction, the Flatiron Building has a new managing partner controlling its future, which is expected to be residential.
Family-owned New York real estate stalwart The Brodsky Organization is the managing partner of a new joint venture, along with two of the parties that previously had stakes in the building, The Sorgente Group and Gural family-owned GFP Real Estate.
The trio plans to convert the landmarked New York City property from office to residential, with the Brodsky Organization leading the revitalization and conversion.
“The Brodsky Organization is very proud to join our partners at The Sorgente Group and GFP Real Estate in preserving this landmark property,” Daniel Brodsky, who leads the firm founded by his father, Nathan, said in a statement. “We believe that the Flatiron Building is well suited for residences and we look forward to working with the City and the Landmarks Preservation Commission on this exciting opportunity.”
Sorgente Group principal Veronica Mainetti said in a statement that the developer is excited to have its new partners on board.
“The Flatiron Building is a foundational part of Sorgente’s legacy, and I am thrilled to see its revitalization finally becoming a reality,” she said.
GFP declined to comment to Bisnow. Representatives for The Sorgente Group and The Brodsky Organization didn't return requests for additional comment.
The 1902-designed property has been through a six-year ownership saga, culminating in two dramatic auctions this spring. Its former owners — a four-way split between GFP, Sorgente, ABS and an individual investor, attorney Nathan Silverstein — couldn’t agree on how to fund improvements following anchor tenant Macmillan Publishers’ 2019 departure.
Finally, the owners agreed to auction off the building as a resolution to the dispute, but the first auction held took a dramatic turn when a mystery bidder, Jacob Garlick, showed up and outbid the ownership coalition, offering $190M.
But the building was returned to the auction block in May when Garlick failed to come up with a deposit. The building sold for $161M in the second auction, with Gural the winning bidder.
In the immediate aftermath of the second auction, Gural said that ownership would consider maintaining the building as half office and half residential condos. It is unclear if the new conversion plan would be for-sale condos or rental apartments.
