Top law firm buys Village building

 
The well-connected tort and malpractice law firm Weitz and Luxenberg paid $70 million for a 100,000-square foot, 19th century building at 700 Broadway in Greenwich Village.

The firm lists Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver as “of counsel” and won millions through asbestos and negligence litigation. Its current location is in the Financial District at 180 Maiden Lane. The firm plans to occupy all of 700 Broadway when it moves some time next year, sources said.

The eight-story structure, built in 1891, had been the home to the National Audubon Society, which bought the abandoned property in 1989. The society sold the building to the Lincoln Property Company in 2006 for $53.05 million.

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New York Observer publisher Jared Kushner was reportedly in contract to buy the building for $80 million, but the sale fell through in March.

The seller was represented by Lincoln Property Company, while the buyer was represented by Newmark, Knight, Frank.

The Audobon Society moved earlier this year to a 27,500-square-foot space at 225 Varick Street.