Sale of $3.8 million penthouse is Lower East Side’s priciest deal since 2008 crash

From left: the terrace of the penthouse unit, the exterior of 115 Norfolk and Ariel Tirosh of Douglas Elliman
From left: the terrace of the penthouse unit, the exterior of 115 Norfolk and Ariel Tirosh of Douglas Elliman

The sale of a penthouse condominium at 115 Norfolk Street marks the most expensive residential sale recorded in the Lower East Side since the housing bust in late 2008, listing broker Ariel Tirosh, a senior vice president at Douglas Elliman, told The Real Deal.

The three-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse loft sold for $3.8 million, or $1,953 per square foot, Tirosh said. Tirosh, who also represented the buyers, said they were a couple. Their identity was not immediately clear, as the sale has not yet hit public records.

The seven-story 24-unit low-rise building, between Delancey and Rivington streets, was developed by Lokshin + Vinbaytel, which has completed other projects in the area, such as 525 East 12th Street, 229 East 2nd Street and 107 Avenue A. When sales at the building launched in late 2010, the penthouse had an asking price of $3 million.

The sale price may not rival some recent sales in other parts of Manhattan, but it is impressive for the area, Tirosh said.

The second priciest deal in the Lower East Side since 2008, when the collapse of Lehman Brothers ushered in the financial crisis, was the penthouse at 263 Bowery, which sold for $3.75 million about two years ago, according to Streeteasy.com. However, that is still shy of the most expensive single-family residential sale in the neighborhood, which was for a $5.09 million penthouse at 15 Rivington Street, according to Streeteasy.com.

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The penthouse features a 2,000-square-foot private outdoor space and a parking spot.

“With this revival of this neighborhood as the times come out of crisis, we are starting to rebuild price levels,” said Tirosh. He said similar sales prices could be achieved soon at VE Equities’ 250 Bowery, a 24-unit condo building, and 100 Norfolk Street, a project by Brooklyn-based Urban-Scape Under Construction Across The Street. When the developer launched the website for 250 Bowery earlier this year, overwhelming demand crashed the site within 24 hours.

“It’s just a psychological barrier that was broken, I guess,” he said.