Italian developer buys stake in Flatiron Building

The Italian real estate developer Sorgente Group has bought more than a 50 percent stake in the landmark Flatiron Building, at 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue, and plans to keep buying more to eventually transform the building into a hotel. Time magazine reported the deal had been done last summer, but the agreement was made final this month. Sorgente Group would not say how much it paid for the share, which is estimated to be worth $190 million. The developer’s plans to transform the building into a hotel will have to wait about 10 years until the remaining tenants are bought out. Book publisher St. Martin’s Press is the primary tenant in the building.