A six-story Chelsea building which houses hip celebrity eatery Cafeteria is set to trade to a local multi-family investment company for $37 million, or $696 a square foot, The Real Deal has learned.
The property, at 161-165 West 17th Street, hit the market in July and was marketed by David Schechtman of Eastern Consolidated for $45 million. Schechtman declined to comment on the deal, saying only that the building was no longer available for sale.
The seller is a partnership between the Duhl and Spector families, based in Manhattan and in Great Neck, N.Y., respectively, public records show. The families had owned the 53,123-square-foot property since 1970.
The elevator building, which has an alternative address of 119-125 Seventh Avenue, houses 55 rent stabilized apartments, a mix of one-bedrooms and studio units. It is fully occupied, with average monthly rents of $1,335, according to marketing materials. Cafeteria’s retail lease expires in 2022.
The building could not be seen as a redevelopment opportunity, sources previously told The Real Deal, because unused air rights attached to the property, which totaled 24,000 square feet, were sold in 2006.
The Duhl and Spector families could not be reached for comment.