The horse and carriage auction house used by artist Frank Stella as a live/work studio from 1978 to 2005 has sold after half a year on the market. The property at 128 East 13th Street, as well as an adjacent townhouse at 123 East 12th Street that's on the same tax lot, sold to Milan Associates for $21.5 million, the Real Deal reports. The properties were sold to the development firm by Infinity Group, which purchased the properties for $9 million at auction in 2012.
Before Infinty purchased the sites, they were owned by Ultimate Realty, who planned on building a seven-story condo before switching course and selling the properties' 30,000-square-feet of air rights to the Trust for Architectural Easements. TRD reports that Ultimate entered contract to buy the properties from Infinity for north of $16 million in June 2015, but flipped the contract to Milan Associates. Got all that?
The carriage house at 128 East 13th Street is one of the last remaining buildings in New York City built to stage horse auctions. The Beaux Arts-style structure was built in 1904 and housed the Van Tassel & Kearney Auction Mart. In the 1920's, the building was leased to a candy manufacturer, and during the World War II era it was home to the Delehanty School, a vocational school that trained women for the defense industry. These days, the carriage house is the home of Capazeio's Peridance dance studio, which has a lease on the property until 2028 with an optional five year extension. The townhouse at 123 East 12th Street houses a jiu-jitsu studio and a duplex rental apartment. The East 13th Street carriage house became a New York City landmark in 2012 (PDF!), after being calendared since 2006.
· Former East Village home of artist Frank Stella sells for $22M [TRD]
· Report: Landmarked East 13th Street Building Sells For $21.5 million [EVG]
· All 126-128 East 13th Street coverage [Curbed]
· All Frank Stella coverage [Curbed]