Manhattan records biggest luxury deal since Covid hit

West Village parking garage with megamansion potential goes into contract asking $45M

332 West 11th Street (Photo via StreetEasy)
332 West 11th Street (Photo via StreetEasy)

UPDATED, NOV. 2, 2020, 11:15 a.m: It’s a red-brick building being used as a garage, but close your eyes and you can see it transformed into a huge mansion with an enviable rooftop terrace.

At least that’s the vision brokers have been pushing since the property at 332 West 11th Street hit the market in January 2019 with an asking price of almost $50 million.

And last week, with the asking price lowered to $45 million, the West Village property finally found a buyer.

Though the final sale price is unknown, the deal marks the largest contract since March and the second largest of 2020, according to the latest market report from Olshan Realty. It was one of 17 properties above $4 million to go into contract last week for a total of $184.7 million, the highest dollar volume since the beginning of March. Five of the properties were asking more than $10 million.

Donna Olshan, who authors the weekly report, said she wrestled with whether to include the property in her tally given it is not a residence. But, she said, “I decided it was an important sale and the spirit of the marketing was really strong on the residential.”

The milestones are good news for Manhattan’s luxury market, which was battered by the pandemic but has been showing signs of activity in recent months. That has happened as wealthy New Yorkers return to the city and weekly sales — while still down from last year — slowly tick upward.

Listing broker Jim St. André of Compass declined to discuss details about the sale, citing a confidentiality agreement, but said there were multiple bidders involved. “The deal makes sense for everyone given the environment,” he said, adding that it “shows the continued overall confidence in New York.”

Built in 1905, the five-story building is 50 feet wide, with 30,000 square feet of interior space and a large rooftop terrace space, according to a listing. Jack Jakub, who has been running an auto detailing shop out of the building for decades, reportedly has a roster of celebrity clients including Leonardo DiCaprio and Julianne Moore.

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The second-priciest deal last week was a duplex condo at 166 Perry Street. The 6,845 square-foot apartment was last asking $20 million, a drop from the $30 million price when it was first listed in 2017. (The seller bought it for $10.4 million in 2013.)

The condo has five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms and an outdoor swimming pool on one of two terraces.

Nest Seekers broker Roya Cohen, who marketed the unit with Ryan Serhant, told Olshan the buyers were a family looking to upsize.

“They came twice, the deal was negotiated over a period of weeks, and the third time they came with a home inspector,” she said.

The buyers, she added, were “smart New Yorkers taking advantage of this market.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story said the number of luxury contracts last week was the highest since early March. While the total dollar volume was the highest since early March, the contract count was not.