Attorney-to-the-stars Mark Geragos is planning to convert a mixed-use building next door to Steve Witkoff’s 10 Madison Square West.
Geragos, whose list of clients includes Kesha and Mike Tyson — as well as plaintiffs in the ongoing sexual-harassment lawsuit against real estate website Zillow — recently paid $9.5 million to purchase a five-story building from Witkoff. The property is near Witkoff’s 10 Madison Square West condo conversion.
Witkoff had purchased the 9,282-square-foot building at 7 West 24th Street in a foreclosure auction along with the adjacent International Toy Center building in 2011 for nearly $190 million. With a pair of penthouses priced at $35 million and above in contract, the condo conversion appears to be a smash success.
While Geragos’ building doesn’t enjoy eight-figure views of Madison Square Park and landmarks such as the Flatiron and New York Life buildings, it does come with development rights that could more than double the size of the current building on the site to nearly 24,000 square feet.
“He intends to develop it to its full potential for residential purposes,” said attorney Tina Glandian, Geragos’s longtime partner at the Geragos & Geragos firm.
Glandian, who represented Geragos as his broker in the deal.
At roughly $400 per buildable square foot, it’s not unreasonable that Glandian could convert the building into rentals. Glandian said the owner is mulling over whether or not the project works out best as rental or condo.
Bob Knakal and John Ciraulo of Massey Knakal represented Witkoff in the sale.
Geragos owns other properties in the city. In 2012 he paid $8 million to purchase a landmarked Fifth Avenue building that serves as the New York office of his Los Angeles-based law firm, and in January he bought a $4.75-million townhouse in the West Village.