It’s easy to see that 71 Clinton St. (Rivington Street) is a troubled building. San Marzano, the pizza restaurant in a prime corner spot, shuttered a couple of years ago after pipes burst. Seoul Chicken, which occupied another ground floor commercial space, gave up on the property earlier this month. Again, faulty pipes were to blame. Today, however, we can report the building’s fortunes could be changing.
Greg Corbin of Bessen & Associates tells us a new potential owner is on board after a court-ordered bankruptcy auction last month. While he was unable to offer details (the closing hasn’t taken place as of yet), court records show a buyer named Richard Jaffe submitted the winning bid for $16,050,000. The minimum bid had been set at $14.1 million. Since the 7-story building is in receivership, the transaction must be formally approved by the court.
The current owner, Steven Rosenfeld, has been embroiled in bankruptcy proceedings since 2011. During that time, the 15,000 sq. ft. property has racked up numerous city violations and renovations in the 22 residential apartments have had to wait.
The situation is not keeping brokers from pitching the commercial spaces. A new listing popped up over the weekend for the former Seoul Kitchen space. “Motivated seller,” reads the description from BLU Realty Group. Key money has been cut from $300,000 to $175,000. The asking price is $10,000/month (7 years remain on the lease). In April, the owner of Elmo Restaurant on 7th Avenue outlined plans to open an organic cafe in the San Marzano space.
Six rent stabilized units remain. Bessen’s listing notes that none of the tenants has been ‘approached for buyouts.”
