Friedlands buy pair of UES rental buildings for $53M

Friedland Properties picked up a pair of Upper East Side rental buildings for $52.6 million, according to property records filed with the city Monday.

The adjacent six-story properties at 1104 Lexington Avenue and 138 East 78th Street collectively hold 20 apartments across more than 28,000 square feet of residential space and roughly 10,000 square feet of retail space.

Nine of the buildings’ 20 residential units are rent-stabilized, according to data from real estate research website Reonomy. Retail tenants include grocery store and caterer Butterfield Market, antique shop Sylvia Pines and the Windsor Florist.

Friedland acquired the properties from the estate of Marie Cowing, with property records indicating the buildings last changed hands in 1971. A representative for Friedland confirmed the transaction, while representatives for Cowing’s estate could not immediately be reached for comment.

Nicholas Judson and Stuart Ellman of Judson Realty brokered the deal on behalf of Friedland. Judson declined to comment.

The Midtown-based, family-run real estate investment firm — founded in 1960 by brothers Larry and Melvin Friedland and now led by their respective sons, William and Rick Friedland — owns a sizable portfolio of Madison Avenue retail assets, as well as residential and office properties predominately located in Manhattan.

The company recently teamed with Nightingale Properties to buy a $76 million operating lease on 645 Madison Avenue, as The Real Deal reported. Friedland is also planning a 17-story residential development at 7 West 21st Street in the Flatiron District, in partnership with Rose Associates.