Extell sells former Ring portfolio building for $37M

Gary Barnett continues to make a killing on the Ring portfolio. His Extell Development just sold one of the portfolio’s former properties for $36.5 million to MetroLoft, a firm that specializes in converting commercial buildings into residential developments, The Real Deal has learned. 

The 12-story property at 114 East 25th Street  is a loft-style building with more than 42,000 square feet of space. It’s a part of the 14-building F.M. Ring Portfolio, a more than 1 million-square-foot package that Extell bought in the fall of 2013 after years of maneuvering around Frank Ring.  Extell paid $30 million for the property, according to city records.

Avison Young’s Neil Helman, Jon Epstein, Vincent Carrega and Charles Kingsley represented both sides in the transaction. MetroLoft’s other projects include 443 Greenwich Street, which it purchased for $150 million together with a Russian billionaire in 2012, as well as 20 Exchange Place And 63 Wall Street.

The building will be delivered vacant to MetroLoft. The property will be converted into a residential project, although it’s still unclear if the units will be rentals or condos, Helman said. Many Buildings On Nearby Park Avenue South have gone residential over the past couple of years, he added.

Extell is already in contract to sell two of the portfolio’s crown jewels — 212 Fifth Avenue to a group of investors led by Joseph Sitt and 251 Park Avenue South to the Feil Organization, as TRD reported. It also agreed to sell ground leases for four of the buildings to the Kaufman Organization in March.