Robert Moser’s Prime Group Buys Chelsea Ironworks at $98M Discount

The self-storage investor paid $50M for the three adjacent office buildings

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Robert Moser’s Prime Group Holdings has teamed up with Empire Capital Holdings to buy the Ironworks office building in Chelsea at a nearly $100 million discount.

Moser, known for investing in self-storage properties, is in contract to buy the three adjacent office buildings at 511-541 West 25th Street from Artemis Real Estate Partners and L&L Holding Company for $50 million, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.

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Artemis and L&L bought the property in 2019 for $148 million, meaning the new deal’s price tag is a steep drop from the earlier purchase price, according to The Real Deal, which first reported the news.

Newmark (NMRK)’s Adam Spies and Adam Doneger brokered the sale. L&L and the Newmark brokers declined to comment, while spokespeople for Prime Group, Empire Capital and Artemis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Once a destination for companies looking for flexible office space, the Ironworks shut down last year after previous tenant WeWork (WE), which took 60,000 square feet at the 194,000-square-foot properties in 2018, filed for bankruptcy.

Moser, along with Empire Capital’s Josh Rahmani and Eli Khalili, plan to turn the now-vacant building into self-storage and office space, TRD reported.

This isn’t the first time this year developers have looked to convert office buildings into self-storage.

In September, Flatiron Equities and Mequity Companies announced plans to convert 152 West 36th Street into a 16-story self-storage facility operated by Manhattan Mini Storage, as Commercial Observer previously reported.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.