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New York's iconic Flatiron Building — famous for its thin, triangular shape — has sold at auction for $190 million following a court order.
The 22-story skyscraper, built in 1902 and often said to resemble a clothes iron, fetched almost four times the opening pice of $50 million following a keen bidding war.
"It's been my lifelong dream of mine since I'm 14 years old," winner Jacob Garlick, managing partner at the Abraham Trust investment fund, told TV station NY 1.
Garlick has not said what he plans to do with the landmarked building, the channel added.
The Flatiron - which straddles Fifth Avenue, Broadway and East 22nd Street in Manhattan — has been empty since 2019 when its last tenant, MacMillian Publishers, vacated.
Prior to the auction, the building had been owned by a consortium of real estate companies that disagreed about renovations and future occupants.
Following a lawsuit and counter lawsuit amongst the parties, a judge ordered them to put the building on the auction block.
Matthew Mannion of Mannion Auctions, which ran Wednesday's sale, told AFP that Garlick has to pay ten percent by close of business on Friday or the building will be awarded to the second highest bidder.
