Landmarked NoMad Building Bought Out of Bankruptcy for $65M
Sunlight Development plans to convert the office building at 95 Madison Avenue into residential
By Mark Hallum June 3, 2024 2:34 pm
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A developer based in Flushing, Queens, has acquired a NoMad building that has been the subject of bankruptcy and a family feud in the last several years.
Sunlight Development signed a contract to buy the landmarked 95 Madison Avenue, which has been owned by the Sklar family since 1943, for $65 million with plans to convert the office property to a 70-unit residential building, PincusCo first reported.
It’s unclear if any brokers were used in the transaction. Sunlight and Michael Sklar — one of the signers of the purchase and sale agreement for the family — did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The sale caps off family infighting over the fate of the 16-story office building on Madison Avenue between East 28th and East 29th streets. Hilda Weinstein left half-sisters Rita Sklar and Lois Weinstein the building when she died in 1970, having inherited it from her father, Louis Shulsky.
The siblings fought a court battle over control of the property, with Lois Weinstein accusing Rita Sklar of using her place as manager of the family real estate portfolio to commit fraud, according to court records.
The battle ended in 2019 when Lois Weinstein died. In 2021, Rita Sklar filed for bankruptcy protection on the building, court records show.
But almost as dramatic as 95 Madison’s recent history are its origins.
An unusually wealthy Gilded Age gynecological surgeon named Thomas Addis Emmet lived at 89 Madison Avenue and acquired the surrounding properties to build the Neo-Renaissance tower, Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) documents show.
Construction started in 1911 and was completed in 1912 with designs for wholesale showroom tenants by architects John Stewart Barney and Stockton Beekman Colt.
Emmet used the building for his medical practice and topped it off with his own penthouse, complete with a giant library and his collection of art and antiques, according to the LPC. Emmet died in 1919 at the age of 92.
The home was designated a New York City landmark in 2018 and is considered one of the earliest examples of a luxury residence atop a commercial building, the LPC said.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
