Former home of Cedar Tavern sells for $1.5M, following major lender pressure

A 2,295-square-foot retail condo unit and former home of the famed Cedar Tavern has sold for $1.5 million, according to investment sales company Salmon & Marshall, which brokered both sides of the transaction.

The unit, located on the bottom floor of 82 University Place, a seven-unit condominium on the corner of 11th Street, was sold by Michael Diliberto, the building’s developer and former owner of Cedar Tavern, which counted Jackson Pollock and Jack Kerouac among its patrons during its roughly 40-year tenure.

The sale came under major duress from lender Flushing Savings Bank, according to Kevin Salmon, a partner at the firm who helped broker the deal. After almost five months on the market, the unit sold to property owner Ascot Properties for $1 million less than its original asking price, Salmon said.

The lender did not respond to a request for comment.

Matthew Marshall, a partner with the firm who also helped broker the transaction, added that the seller was “under extreme pressure from the lender and needed to sell immediately.”

Diliberto had originally planned to incorporate Cedar Tavern into his condo development, but shut down operations at the noted watering hole in late 2006.

At the time, Diliberto told The Real Deal that while Cedar Tavern “means something to me, it doesn’t mean something to the next generation.”

Diliberto declined to comment.

Tamir Shemesh, an agent with the Corcoran Group, began marketing units at the condo in early 2008 before stopping several months later. (Shemesh was with Prudential Douglas Elliman at the time.)

All the residential units but one, the penthouse which is currently being marketed for $3.2 million by Brown Harris Stevens, have sold.

As for the retail spot, Ascot vice president Michael Brown said the sale was a golden opportunity for his firm.

“We really liked the location and… the seller needed a very quick closing and we were able to close within a week,” Brown said of the all-cash deal.

Ascot has received “a couple offers” from prospective tenants on the retail space, Brown said.

But those who may be hoping for a Cedar Tavern revival will likely be disappointed.

According to Brown, “there are restrictions [on the space] specifically [blocking] a restaurant or bar.”