Rare Tribeca cast-iron building sells for $18.5M

One of Tribeca’s last remaining cast-iron loft buildings, currently home to City Hall Restaurant, has changed hands for $18.5 million.

The 25,000-square-foot, five-story mixed-use building at 131 Duane Street is topped by eight residential units on the upper floors, while the ground-level retail space is home to City Hall Restaurant. Six of the eight apartment units are rent stabilized.

Marion Jones and Ben Tapper of Eastern Consolidated Represented Seller Duane Street Realty LLC, who purchased the building in 1998 for $2.2 million.

“Finding the right buyer proved challenging given the limited current income that the property is generating, requiring a buyer to come with a larger than normal percentage of cash,” Tapper told the New York Observer. “However, given the dearth of available product, especially 75-foot-wide cast-iron loft buildings in Tribeca, we knew this was a desirable asset.”

The building hit the market in June with an asking price of $21 million. [NYO] — Julie Strickland