Soho Mews developer picks up Soho building for $15M

Albert Laboz, chairman of the Fulton Mall Improvement Association and developer of the glassy new Soho Mews condominium, has added another Soho property to his family’s bulging portfolio with the $15 million purchase of 449 Broadway.

The 25,000-square-foot building, which, like Soho Mews, lies within the Soho-Cast Iron Historic District, currently houses the headquarters of Arthur Liu’s Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, the multilingual AM radio empire. Liu, who began his radio career as a pop music disc jockey in Taiwan during the 1960s, has owned the building since the company’s founding in 1982.

Laboz, a principal along with brothers Jason and Jody at United American Land, closed on the five-story building Oct. 12, city records show. Laboz is among the largest property owners on Fulton Street in Brooklyn and in recent years has been trying his hand at high-end Manhattan condo developments, like Soho Mews and Chelsea’s the Lyla.

The most recent asking price for 449 Broadway was not immediately available, and calls to UAL and MRB were not returned, but a December 2009 listing in the New York Times priced the property at $19.75 million and noted that the ground-floor retail space and basement would be delivered vacant.

CB Richard Ellis listing brokers Dan Kaplan, Ned Midgely, Tim Sheehan and Sloan Rhulen were not immediately available for comment.