Gary Barnett Buys Friars Club Building for $19M

Developer Gary Barnett’s Extell Development has purchased New York City’s former home of comedy, the Friars Club building at 57 East 55th Street, for $19 million, sources told Commercial Observer.

The sale of the landmarked building closed April 23. The five-story, 14,541-square-foot interior of the building is not landmarked, but was jam-packed with memorabilia, stained glass, carved wood staircases and plenty of dust by the time of the new sale, as the famous comedy roast venue officially closed in 2024 and has been vacant ever since.

Built as the Martin Erdmann House in 1908, the Friars — or former members of the comedy-focused club — had owned it since 1957. The Friars themselves started the club in 1904 as a way for Broadway publicists to formalize press relations, but the spot eventually evolved into a celebrated celebrity-packed group known for its comedy roasts and charitable giving.  

The club shut down in 2020 due to effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, a flood and fiscal mismanagement. The property was eventually foreclosed on by its lender, Kairos Investment Management, in October 2024 after ownership, the LLC Friars National Association Inc., defaulted on a $13 million loan and stopped making mortgage payments, as CO previously reported.

Kairos provided the club with a $13 million mortgage in 2021, but interest had enlarged the debt to $18.4 million in 2024 when Greg Corbin’s Northgate Real Estate Group was hired to handle the foreclosure that was finalized at $17.2 million in December. The receiver officially transferred it to a Kairos-associated entity earlier this year for $15.5 million.

Bob Knakal of BKREA was tapped to sell the building, which had previously sold 25,000 square feet air rights for $100,000 in connection with the development of the nearby Park Avenue Tower.

But some of those air rights were unused, and the Friars Club recaptured 803 feet of transferrable air rights in 1992. It is unclear if they actually used those to add to its building.

Knakal did not return a request for comment, but no marketing materials from him or from Northgate mention any air rights.

An air rights map created by the Municipal Art Society in April 2023 says the site has 28,593 square feet of air rights, but it is unclear if that data is reliable after the zoning lot merger for Park Avenue Tower at 65 East 55th Street. In fact, the map explicitly states: “Consequently, in areas where zoning lot mergers have occurred, the map may overstate the amount of available floor area.” 

One of the office tower developments Barnett’s Extell is assembling is right down the block at 405-415 Park Avenue between East 54th and East 55th streets. He’s also set to acquire the office building at 110 East 55th Street and the air rights from Central Synagogue at 652 Lexington Avenue for new office or residential developments. Barnett secured 123,000 square feet of air rights over Saint Thomas Church at 678 Fifth Avenue for $36 million last year, too.

In addition, Extell filed plans last year to build a 71-story mixed-use tower at 871 Seventh Avenue. More recently, Barnett submitted an application to build a 1.2 million-square-foot, 430-unit residential building at 80 West 67th Street.

Barnett did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since the Friars Club building has flexible zoning and a commercial kitchen, it was being marketed at multiple users — from those that wanted a private residence, to embassies, cigar lounges, restaurants and the types of private clubs that have been staging a renaissance in Manhattan over the last few years.

“This is a rare opportunity to purchase an iconic venue with a rich legacy,” Northgate’s Corbin told CO in October 2024. “The vacant building is a blank slate and offers incredible versatility for a number of high-end uses.”

But the building was still chock-full of memorabilia, so Julien’s Auctions held an online auction earlier this year for many of the club’s iconic artworks and items, including a violin belonging the Jack Benny, a billiards table used by members such as Frank Sinatra, and thousands of photographs (such as ones of member and then-developer President Donald Trump).

Some local comedians, including Jerry Seinfeld, had hoped to rescue and reboot the Friars Club itself but did not win any bids. 

It’s unclear what Barnett intends to do with the Friars Club property, or whether he plans to reopen the club. But as Barnett has a way of seeing usages and zoning that others miss, whatever he plans for the building will likely have others saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?”