Retail Units at Once-Controversial 126 Waverly Place Sell for $23M

The commercial condominium component of 126 Waverly Place, once a hotly debated development in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, has sold for $23 million, according to city records made public Monday.

Philip Pilevsky, CEO of Philips International, sold the company’s stake in the retail section of the five-story property on Avenue of the Americas between Washington Place and Waverly Place to joint venture partner Steven Carter of Rogers Carter Investments, according to the deed.

Philips International and Rogers Carter Investments did not immediately respond to  requests for comment.

Rogers Carter Investments owned a 36 percent stake in the properties, while two LLCs associated with Philips owned the remaining shares, which are being sold to Carter’s firm.

Carter’s firm also purchased the retail units running from 360 to 374 Avenue of the Americas. 

From 1930 until about 1986, 126 Waverly Place was a parking lot.

That is, until James Stewart Polshek, architect for the project and then dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture and Planning, decided to build something that was, in his view, consistent with the character of the neighborhood.

Presenting his plan to Community Board 2 resulted in a mix of approval and disagreement from local community members and preservationists, some of whom called on the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to reject the application.

Needless to say, Polshek’s plan was ultimately approved. Polshek died in 2022.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.