Upper East Side office building primed for condos fetches $31.5M

First-time NYC developers will convert Third Avenue site

The Art & Design building, a showroom and office space at 1059 Third Avenue, at 63rd Street, has sold for $31.5 million, representatives for the seller told The Real Deal.

The buyer, a foreign entity that has not developed real estate in New York City before, will demolish the building and develop luxury condominiums, said Tanya Siegel of Marcus & Millichap, who represented the seller with colleague Kailin Zhu.

The buyer was selected among hundreds of individuals and entities that expressed interest in the asset, Siegel said, because it was able to close in 30 days in an all-cash transaction. The original listing price was just $1 million greater than the final sale price, Siegel said.

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The seller was an LLC associated with the Battaglia family, public records show.

With no as of right height restrictions due to the R-10 zoning, the site offers about 52,500 buildable square feet, Siegel said. Currently, there are 22,250 rentable square feet at the building. The deal represents a sale price of $1,416 per square foot, or about $600 per buildable square foot, according to figures from Marcus & Millichap.

Clint Olsen of Massey Knakal represented the unnamed buyer. Massey Knakal was not immediately available for comment.