The saga of New York’s most iconic triangular skyscraper continues.
After being bought by a surprise contender, the Flatiron Building’s fate is once again up in the air, and more bidding may well lie in its near future.
Late last month, the Fifth Avenue landmark’s former owners lost their deed to deep-pocketed challenger Jacob Garlick, who placed a winning $189.5 million on the former Fuller Building.
Then, after sending the New York City real estate world into a tizzy, Garlick — a managing partner at growth equity venture fund Abraham Trust — flaked out hard on paying a $19 million deposit, putting his possession of the iconic Manhattan building into question.
Now, in the latest installment in the drama, three of the former owners have said they will not exercise their ability, as the most recent deed-holders, to purchase the building for just under $190 million.
As for why, former owner Jeff Gural of GFP Real Estate told Crain’s he “had really hoped to buy it for a lot less.”
After Garlick failed to pay his 10% deposit on the 121-year-old structure the other week (he’d won it that Wednesday) , Gural and his fellow former owners only had until this Monday to decide whether they wanted to once again be proprietors of the property.
Before the day was out, though, he’d called it — telling Crain’s yesterday afternoon that neither he nor the other owners would be purchasing the building for the eye-watering bid.
This likely means it’s back to the block for the 22-story steel-frame structure, at which point Gural and the other former owners will again have the opportunity to buy back the building at a lower bid, Crain’s reported.
Garlick’s Abraham Trust will be on the hook for auction fees and is still required to pay its 10% down payment, although rules didn’t mean much as of last week, it seems.
Although non-industry insiders might balk at simply not paying such a huge sum after committing to one exponentially larger, bankruptcy pros say the emotional reaction, at least, is not surprising.
“I’ve often seen people’s face change in an instant when they actually win the auction,” Greg Corbin, of Rosewood Realty Group, told Crain’s. “They go from a look of excitement and pride to one of fear and regret. When Jacob Garlick fell to his knees after the auction, I’m not sure if it was from joy or from buyer’s remorse in a ‘what have I done’ moment.”