It’s hard to imagine buildings as iconic as the Flatiron Building sitting sadly vacant since 2019 and then going on the auction block. But it happens from time to time when stubborn owner-partners have a testy squabble they can’t solve on their own and take each other to court.
Aaron Ginsburg, writing for 6sqft, shared, “New York City’s iconic Flatiron Building has sold for $190 million. During a live public auction in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday, Jacob Garlick of Abraham Trust placed the winning bid over one of the historic landmark’s previous owners, Jeffrey Gural of GFP Real Estate…”
Located on a triangular lot at Broadway, Fifth Avenue, between 22nd and 23rd streets, the Flatiron was the first high-rise building north of 14th Street.
This month (March 2023), a New York Supreme Court judge ordered a partition sale of the building and put it up for auction; the opening bid was $40,000. (The auction was open to anyone who wanted to bid.) The building ultimately sold for $190 million to Jacob Garlick, who had auction paddle number 2. After the sale, Garlick said—with a perfect New York accent—that owning the Flatiron Building “had been a lifelong dream of mine since I’m 14 years old.”
Listen to this wonderful podcast from my friends, The Bowery Boys, and learn more about the history of the building. It’s fascinating.
Oh, and one last thing. When the building opened for business, it had no restrooms for women. Not a single one. Here’s a typical floor plan from the original drawings. Most of the offices had a sink, and while there were six elevators, there was only one restroom per floor, and it was for men.
Wow! Shocked that it sat vacant for 4 years.
That surprised me, too. Also, when it opened the Flatiron had no restrooms for women.
!!!