Con Edison’s sale of a former Downtown substation to Sharif El-Gamal of Soho Properties will net the utility company about $5.5 million. El-Gamal purchased 51 Park Place from Con Edison in July for $10.7 million, as The Real Deal previously reported. Costs associated with the sale brought the before-tax profit to $9.2 million, according to papers filed with New York’s Public Service Commission and cited by Capital New York. Taxes will reduce the net by nearly $4 million.
While a tenant in the building, El-Gamal exercised an option in the lease to buy the property, sparking a national controversy when he revealed plans to build an Islamic cultural center there. Critics said the decision was insensitive to families of those who died in the September 11 terror attacks a few blocks away.
El-Gamal and Con Edison sparred in court over a rent dispute on multiple occasions. [Capital NY] – Tom DiChristopher