Nightingale Properties founder appears to be buyer of 1 West End PH

An LLC controlled by Nightingale Properties CEO Elie Schwartz has closed on a penthouse at 1 West End Avenue for $17.9 million, two years after first going into contract.

The 5,900-square-foot home, the priciest apartment at the 246-unit property developed by Silverstein Properties and Elad Group, went into contract in October of 2016. It was first listed in June of that year with an asking price of $21 million. It features four bedrooms, a library, a private corner terrace and Hudson River views.

The deal closed at just over $3,000 a square foot. The buyer entity for the sale is 1 WestEnd PHA LLC, which has the same business address as commercial real estate investment firm Nightingale Properties. The sole member of the LLC is Nightingale founder Elie Schwartz, loan documents show. When reached for comment, Schwartz denied any knowledge of the transaction. Corcoran Sunshine, which used to handle sales at the development and brokered this transaction, declined to comment.

Schwartz’s firm owns many major commercial properties in the city. Last October, the company went into contract to acquire the Soho office and retail complex at 300 Lafayette Street.

One West End is the first building in Riverside Center, a five-building, eight-acre complex on the Upper West Side that stretches from West 59th Street to West 61st Street. The complex will include thousands of residential units, 140,000 square feet of retail space, a public plaza, elementary school and a 250-key hotel.

The Silverstein and Elad property is a 42-story tower that sits on 11th Avenue between West 59th and West 60th streets. The joint venture launched sales at the property in 2015. Two years later, the “Million Dollar Listing New York” team of Fredrik Eklund and John Gomes were tapped to replace Corcoran Sunshine as the sales agents for the building.

Last January, the developers secured a $300 million condo inventory loan for more than 100 unsold units at the tower.