Well-known hedge fund manager Mark Sonnino snapped up an office building at 555 West 25th Street in West Chelsea in an all-cash transaction for $27 million or $665 per square foot.
The deal comes just two months after Sonnino, a former George Soros protégé whose own hedge fund Satellite Capital closed amid the 2008 financial crisis, sold his former home at 144 Duane Street, for $43 million.
The Chelsea building, between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, totals 40,856 square feet. The building is fully occupied by artistic tenants, including the Dillon Gallery, a gallery showing works by international contemporary artists, and a handcrafted American furniture showroom by design firm Khouri Guzman Bunce.
The seller, Sharone Ben-Harosh of FlatRate Moving company, owned the property since 1998, according to public records. Records did not show how much he had paid for the building.
James Nelson and Brock Emmetsberger of Massey Knakal of Massey Knakal Realty Services brokered the deal of behalf of Ben-Harosh. Leonard Steinberg and Yoko Sanada of Douglas Elliman represented the buyer.
Neither Ben-Haroshe nor Steinberg were immediately available for comment on the transaction. Sonnino could not be reached.
Rents at the building, built in 1891, are far below market rate, according to a statement from Massey Knakal.
“Rents throughout the property are roughly half of today’s market, so there is a tremendous amount of upside,” Emmetsberger said. “The building benefited from high loft ceilings and windows on four sides on the above floors, which made it very desirable.”