David Bistricer’s Clipper Equity and the family-owned Rieder Holdings are switching tactics at a nearly 200-unit Upper West Side rental building which they were in the midst of converting to condominiums. The partnership sold 752 West End Avenue for $120 million, according to records filed yesterday.
The buyer appears to be the Miami-based developer Crescent Heights, according to property records.
It was not immediately clear why the partnership decided to sell. Messages to Rieder Holdings, led by Leslie Rieder, were not returned by press time. Bistricer was not immediately available for a comment.
The sale was brokered by Doug Harmon, Adam Spies and Jean Celestin of Eastdil Secured, according to people familiar with the transaction. Harmon declined to comment.
The partnership paid $72 million for the property in 2010, as The Real Deal reported.
At the time, Bistricer told TRD they would keep the property rental. “We are long-term owners,” he said.
But in 2012, Bistricer and Rieder filed plans with the New York Attorney General’s office for a nearly $148 million conversion of the building to 197 condos, records show. The plan, which did not call for evicting current residents, was approved in June 2012.
While a number of units were subsequently listed for between $555,000 and $1.6 million, with Douglas Elliman Development Marketing handling sales, no closings appear to have taken place, according to StreetEasy and city property records. The Elliman sales team declined to comment.
Formerly a hotel known as the Paris, the 24-story property has three active sales listings and nine sales in contract, StreetEasy shows. One is an 848-square-foot, one-bedroom unit asking $925,000. The priciest one in contract is a 926-square-foot, two-bedroom unit that had a $1.3 million asking price.
Bistricer is currently working on several conversions, one of which is turning the Flatotel into residences and turning the Bossert Hotel back into a hotel.
Rieder Holdings sold a Williamsburg development site last October to Silverstone Property Group for $21.7 million, The Real Deal reported.
Crescent Heights did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated that the property sold for $60 million. In fact, it sold for twice that price in a deal to two different LLCs.