Prospective Carnegie Hill condo conversion to sell for $105M

Manhattan-based Simon Baron Development Group has inked a contract to buy a prewar rental building in Carnegie Hill for $105 million, or $1,223 per square foot, The Real Deal has learned. The building is poised for conversion to condominium, sources said.

The 13-story building, at 12 East 88th Street between Fifth and Madison avenues, has 85,839 square feet of residential space and 1,800 square feet of office space. Simon Baron will acquire the property from longtime owner, Nostra Realty, a company controlled by the Kwiat and Ferman families. Nostra has owned the building since 1968, records show.

Nostra was represented by Jones Lang LaSalle’s Jon Caplan, Richard Baxter, Scott Latham and Yoron Cohen in the deal. Simon Baron did not use a broker.

The deal is expected to close within a week or so, Matthew Baron, a president at Simon Baron, told The Real Deal. Neither Caplan nor the principals of Nostra could immediately be reached for comment.

Simon Baron was previously known as Simon Development Group. The company owns rental buildings Tower 31 at 9 West 31st Street, and the Manhattan at 244 East 86th Street.

The 88th Street building houses 65 apartment units, a third of which are rent regulated, according to previous reports.

Simon Baron has plans to convert the property into high-end condominiums, sources said. Baron declined to confirm the company’s intentions, however, and no permit applications have been filed with the Department of Buildings at this time.