The iconic Flatiron Building is going up for auction for the second time over three months Tuesday, capping months of limbo following an aborted first sale in March and years of drama among its current owners.
The 121-year old building is on offer again after a little-known buyer beat out the competition with a whopping $190 million bid — only to fail making the requisite $19 million deposit, scuttling the deal.
The 22-floor Flatiron has been a quintessential part of New York’s skyline since it was built in 1902. The triangular steel-framed skyscraper located at the junction of Broadway and Fifth Avenue is a popular tourist spot. It has been featured in countless television shows and movies such as the “Spider-Man” film trilogy, with the exterior serving as the headquarters of The Daily Bugle.
The initial auction led to a dramatic sequence of events.
Jacob Garlick shook the city real estate scene when he narrowly beat out owners GFP Real Estate, Sorgente Group and ABS Partners after a fierce bidding war on March 22.
Jeffrey Gural’s GFP, Sorgente and ABS own 75% of the Flatiron. Their $189.5 million bid was narrowly outstripped by Garlick’s Virginia-based firm, Abraham Trust.
Despite describing it as a “lifelong dream” at the time, the 31-year-old Garlick failed to make good on the deposit.
That gave the runners-up the option to buy it instead. They declined, necessitating the second auction. Gural told the Daily News he planned to attend Tuesday, but that he didn’t know what to expect after Garlick’s March surprise. Gural and the other majority owners sued Garlick earlier this month.
Gural and the other co-owners have been locked in a legal dispute for years with Nathan Silverstein, who owns the remaining 25% of the building.
The factions have argued over issues such as the Flatiron’s maintenance and future after its last occupants, Macmillan Publishers, departed in 2019. It’s been empty ever since. Per The Real Deal, Gural and his partners sued Silverstein in 2021 in an effort to force a sale, culminating in the first auction.
“Last time this guy did a crazy price, so I have no idea if somebody else is going to come along and bid a crazy price,” Gural said. “Hopefully … we’ll be able to buy [Silverstein’s] interest at a reasonable price, but I have no idea if that’s how it’s going to play out.
Matthew Mannion of Mannion Auctions, who ran the first auction and will preside over the bidding on Tuesday, said participants will have to provide a certified check of at least $100,000 payable to the referee in order to partake.
Tuesday’s auction is set to take place at 2:30 p.m. on the courtroom steps at 60 Centre Street.
“It’s going to be packed,” Mannion said.
