By Jotham Sederstrom 10/11/11 11:38am

The Power Broker

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The Underdog

If Leon Manoff were to sketch his nine-month search for office space on behalf of ASME, the 131-year-old association of mechanical engineers, it would look like a swirl of concentric circles, with each spiral extending farther from the organization’s space at 3 Park Avenue.

Over the course of his search, in fact, the Colliers International tenant agent toured floorplates 20 blocks north and more than three miles south, all across Lower Manhattan. In total, Mr. Manoff and his clients considered more than 30 buildings over the span of roughly 10 tours.

But as is so often the case, the building that ASME executives liked most of all was hiding in their own backyard, at 2 Park Avenue, directly out the window. Read More

By Nick Juravich 6/28/10 3:51pm

The Flatiron Building as Metaphor and So Forth

Skyscrapers make the best metaphors. Whether fortress or phallus, they offer the urban writer an unparalleled literary device for capturing the audacity and arrogance of the people who build and finance them. They’re not half-bad for synecdoche, either, standing in for whole American cities in more than a few popular histories. In her new book Read More

By Jotham Sederstrom 5/03/10 10:43pm

Veronica Mainetti, the History Buffer

The Commercial Observer:

Sorgente’s first residential project-34 Greene Street-went on the market in January. How are sales going so far?

Ms. Mainetti: Sales are going really well. The last couple of months we’ve been having a lot of showings, and the traffic has definitely increased. We closed on a unit, and we Read More

By Staff 11/02/09 4:33pm

Gural Sells Stake in Flatiron Building (Updated)

Newmark Knight Frank Chairman Jeffrey Gural and his partners have sold a stake in the Flatiron Building for $51.8 million, according to city records dated Oct. 28.

The buyer is listed as Michelangelo Flatiron Building Investment LLC, with an address at 805 Third Avenue. The LLC is 100 percent owned by the Michelangelo Fondo, which, in Read More

By Dana Rubinstein 6/10/08 8:40pm

Italian Firm Buys Majority Control of Flatiron Building

Valter Mainetti’s Sorgente Group has bought a majority stake in the Flatiron Building, according to Time.com.

"Though not quite the shock of the Mitsubishi Group’s purchase of Rockefeller Center, the Flatiron’s falling into foreign hands nevertheless carries symbolic weight as international investors take advantage of the upheaval in the real estate market and Read More