Status of Flatiron Building Uncertain After Winning Bidder Doesn’t Pay Up

The iconic Flatiron building was recently sold at auction for a cool $190 million—only to find the winning bidder didn’t have the cash.

Earlier in March, the 120-year-old building was put up for auction by Matthew Mannion of Mannion Auctions. The little-known Abraham Trust and its managing partner Jacob Garlick won out with their $190 million bid. However, according to real estate site The Real Deal, the situation became murky yet again a few days following the auction, when it emerged that Garlick had failed to put down the 10% deposit of $19 million to close the sale.

The second-highest bidder was Jeffrey Gural with the group GFP Real Estate. If Mannion fails to pay up, there is a possibility the building could go to Gural as the next-highest bidder.

Manhattan’s first skyscraper north of 14th Street, the unique Beaux-Arts structure is now one of the most recognizable buildings in our city’s skyline. All 21 of the building’s floors were previously occupied by tenant MacMillan Publishers. After MacMillan departed, recent months saw the owners in disagreement over the building’s fate. Historically, 75% of the building was owned by the four entities GFP Real Estate, Newmark, Sorgente Group and ABS Real Estate Partners, while the remaining 25% belonged to Nathan Silverstein. The other four owners in July 2021 brought legal action against Silverstein and stated that they wanted a partition sale.

Chelsea News reached out to Mannion Auctions at deadline on March 27th, and a company official said he was on the other line with the top bidder and would call us back. But no return call came by presstime.