Park Avenue Building Headed for Sale, and Maybe Conversion

The prewar building at 737 Park Avenue has been offering pricey rentals?to the tune of up to $25,000/month?since 1940, but the building may soon join its Park Avenue brethren in opening its doors to buyers only. The Post's Lois Weiss reports that the 108-unit building, which is about 70 percent market-rate and 30 percent rent-stabilized, is coming up for sale. The sellers, the Katz family, hope the building at the corner of 71st Street could fetch $250 million. (And Tribeca's 88 Leonard may face a similar fate.) But that price is only possible, according to Weiss, if the building goes condo. It doesn't seem an unlikely outcome, considering some of the enticements to potential building buyers, like the vacant 3,500-square-foot penthouse. Which puts the high-end co-ops across the street at 720 and 740 Park in a tough spot: would they rather be neighbors with renters or condo buyers?
· Park Ave. building on block [NYP]