A family-run firm based out of Great Neck on Long Island that made a splash buying distressed properties in the bear market has closed on a $24 million purchase of a West Village walk-up with retail tenants.
Longtime owners Rosalyn and Norton Nesis sold the 1890s-era red brick and brownstone building at 61 Grove Street last month for $24 million, according to broker Joseph Arnold Smith of Friedman-Roth Realty Services, who represented both the buyer and the seller in the deal.
The purchaser was 61 Grove St. LLC, an entity controlled by the Sabet Group, which opportunistically picked up more than $35 million in distressed properties in 2009 and 2010. The company could not be reached for comment.
For more than 50 years Roslyn and Norton Nesis owned the oddly-shaped building between Grove and Christopher Streets, which had its southeast corner lopped Off When The City Extended Seventh Avenue South through the neighborhood in 1914. The Nesises went to lengths to restore the architectural features of the five-story, 14,000-square-foot building. The deal worked out to nearly $1,700 per square foot for the property.
The building has 12 residential and three retail units, including the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop and the 40-year-old Boots and Saddles bar. Boots and Saddles will be closing later this month due to a hike in rent, as was first reported by DNAinfo.
“This transaction represents the continued desirability of investing in income-producing properties in the historic West Village and surrounding areas,” Smith said in a statement. “With historical renovations already made by the owners, we believe the iconic building will continue to be a neighborhood mainstay for years to come.”