Landauer sells former Sahara Hotel property in Union Square vicinity

Real Estate Weekly, March 24, 1999

Landauer's Investment Services Group has sold 201 East 14th Street, located within one block of Union Square in Manhattan, to Alex Forkosh of Coral Realty LLC for $8.2 million. Timothy M. Baydala, senior managing director and Dan E. Gorczycki, director, negotiated the sale on behalf of Francis T. Murphy, the Receiver appointed by the City of New York as a result of a court order. The buyer was represented by Alan P. Miller, then of Lee Odell Real Estate and now with the Carlton Group.

"The property sold for a price that equates to $102 a square foot FAR," Gorczycki said. "This illustrates the continued strength of the Manhattan market for residential development and the resurgence of the Union Square area."

The property is on a corner plot area of 8,060 square feet, with 100 feet of frontage on East 14th Street and 80.6 feet of frontage on Third Avenue, and the improvements are comprised of four five-story, attached buildings. Built in 1900, it was previously utilized as an SRO hotel known as the Sahara. It fell into a state of disrepair, thus causing the City of New York to force the sale.

According to Baydala, "The allowable building density is 80,600 square feet in a 10 floor area, indicating the ability for the new owner to substantially increase the leasable area of the plot. If adjoining air rights can be transferred, it could increase the building's size in excess of current zoning and hence development. The building is located in what is becoming one of the most desirable residential and business areas in Manhattan."

Many of the sites adjacent to the property have either been the subject of development or are targeted for future development. Last Fall, New York University announced its plans to construct a 16-story, $80 million dormitory on East 14th Street between Third and Fourth avenues, on the site of the Palladium dance club. It will accommodate 973 students and is scheduled to open in September 2001.

Landauer's Investment Services Group provides institutional acquisitions and dispositions, corporate financial consulting, project financing and equity sources and sale/leasebacks throughout the United States. The Group's focus is on real estate counseling services in connection with property transactions, including equity and debt placement, with an emphasis on institutional quality real estate assets of all types nationwide.