A Broadway property known as the Original Empire State Building has been sold for $32.5 million.
Built in 1897, 640 Broadway was purchased by a local buyer according to Bob Knakal and James Nelson, the Massey Knakal brokers who handled the sale.
“It’s rare that a block front property comes on line,” said Nelson. “Given its scale and prime location, we received interest from around the world, but ultimately a strong, local buyer prevailed.”
An entire block front luxury elevator loft building, 640 Broadway (aka 172 Crosby Street), is located between Broadway and Crosby Street in NoHo.
The nine-story, elevator building is approximately 63,094 s/f (of which 16,582 is below grade). Architecturally, the overall building envelope has been restored, including a new copper cornice. Each floor contains 12’ barrel vault ceilings and over-sized windows providing a tremendous amount of light and air into each unit.
The current configuration of the apartments provides for easy subdivision of spaces for future condominium conversion, according to the brokers. The building currently contains 12 commercial units and 21 residential units. Of the 12 commercial units, seven are currently leased and five are available for rent. Of the 21 residential apartments, 12 are fair market and nine are rent stabilized.
“The demand for properties with such a prominent retail component continues to be outstanding,” said Knakal.
“However, this property also created significant interest given the nature of the residential component which consisted of many vacancies providing the purchaser with several options moving forward.”
The building dates to 1897, was designed by Macy’s architects De Lemos & Cordes, and was the first structure to be named the Empire State Building, after the Empire State Bank on the ground floor.