After Airbnb Settlement, Assa Sells 19 W 55TH St for $2M-per-Apartment

Soon after Assa Properties agreed to pay $1.2 million over alleged, illegal Airbnb rentals, Assa has sold one of the four apartment buildings involved. Abraham Leifer of Aview Equities paid $50 million for 19 W. 55th St. (19W55), which includes 7,600 square feet of retail space and 23 apartments. That works out to roughly $2 million per apartment.

“Since we purchased this portfolio, Assa Properties has made the investment to bring the properties to their current first-class state, matching the premium location in the center of Fifth Avenue’s luxury retail corridor,” said Solly Assa, founder of Assa Properties.

In 2013, the portfolio was only 25% occupied and, after a series of capital improvements by Assa Properties, it is now at near-full occupancy. As part of the Airbnb settlement, Assa agreed to allow the city to assign an outside manager for the four buildings involved. The sale of 19W55 frees the building from that agreement.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact our New York commercial real estate editor Bendix Anderson