Several Chinatown Buildings Find a Single Buyer for $21M

A mystery buyer has acquired a substantial stretch of buildings between Forsyth Street and Eldridge Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

The $21.14 million sale recorded Friday saw the commercial buildings at 99-105, 95-97 and 91 Canal streets trade to an entity called 99-91 Canal Project. The buildings are registered as office buildings, according to the New York City Department of Buildings, and appear to host storefronts on their ground floors. 

Filings on the city’s DOB Now platform document multiple partial vacate orders and other violations throughout the block of buildings, which range in height from two to six stories.

One of the commercial stretch’s most notable occupants is the artist-run nonprofit 99Canal, which operates on the sixth floor of 99 Canal Street, according to its website.

The owner behind 99-91 Canal Project could not be immediately determined. The limited liability company’s address is at a multifamily home in Catskill, N.Y., and real estate attorney Nicholas Donovan at Donovan LLP served as its signatory. 

The same Catskill address, this time registered to the entity 193 Canal St, also purchased 93 Canal Street for $1.48 million in late March, according to city records.

The seller in both cases was a collection of four co-owning entities that acquired the block of storefronts and offices through a deed transfer in 2019. Attorney Jay Lau of Lau & Associates served as the authorized signatory for all four sellers. Also included in the 2019 transfer was 89 Canal Street — the sole facade along the block that remains in their ownership. 

Donovan and Lau did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Emily Davis can be reached at edavis@commercialobserver.com.