Spear Street Buys SoHo Parking Garage Turned Office Building for $40M

San Francisco-based Spear Street Capital has purchased a SoHo office building that was formerly a parking garage for $40 million, according to city records made public Wednesday.

Spear Street, which used the entity 165 Mercer Owner, bought the six-story office and retail building at 165 Mercer Street from the Batt family, which used the entity 165 Mercer Property Owner, records show.

Spear Street CEO John Grassi signed for the buyer, records show, while it was unclear who signed for the Batt family.

“Occupier, and by extension, investor interest in SoHo remains exceptionally strong,” JLL’s David Giancola, who brokered the sale and financing along with Aaron Niedermayer, Andrew Scandalios and Jennifer Zelko, said in a statement to Commercial Observer.

“Reimagined and redeveloped by the Batt family and Tidal Real Estate Partners, 165 Mercer represents one of the finest boutique buildings in SoHo and a fantastic addition to the high quality Spear Street portfolio,” Giancola added.

A spokesperson for Spear Street did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while a spokesperson for the Batt family could not be reached for comment. Crain’s New York Business first reported the news.

The Batt family bought the property between Prince and West Houston streets in the late 1960s, after the building was converted into a parking garage in the 1920s, Crain’s reported. Before that, the property served as a manufacturing space and even a horse stable, according to the outlet.

In 2017, the Batt family sought to revise the 1870-built property and reached a deal with architecture and development firm Flank to redevelop the building into office and retail space, according to Crain’s.

As part of the redevelopment, Flank restored 165 Mercer’s “historic facade” and fully rebuilt the interior. As of March 2018, asking rents for office space at the building ranged from $82 to $105 per square foot, while retail asking rents for the ground floor averaged $600 per square foot, Crain’s reported.

Current office tenants of the SoHo building include recruiting firm Venturi and venture capital company Spark Capital. Women’s clothing store Khaite occupies the retail space.

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