Samson Management Sells 92 Third Street in Brooklyn to Jack Guttman at $44M Loss

Samson Management has sold an office building in Gowanus, Brooklyn, at a loss of $44 million, according to city records made public Tuesday.

Samson offloaded the five-story building at 92 Third Street to Jack Guttman’s Pearl Realty Management for $29.5 million, records show. That’s a steep drop from the $73 million Samson paid for the property in 2015, as Commercial Observer previously reported.

Pearl Realty bought the 94,000-square-foot building through the entity 92 Third Street Gowanus while Samson sold it through the entity 92 Third Street, records show. Samson’s Brian McCarthy signed for the seller, while Guttman signed for the buyer.

Norman Bobrow & Company’s David Badner and Jonathan Kershner brokered the deal for Samson, while Alvarez & Marsal Property Solutions’ Fritz Kemerling represented Pearl Realty. Badner declined to comment, while Kemerling did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Spokespeople for Samson and Pearl Realty did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Samson paid FirstMark Capital and Livwrk $73 million in 2015 for the Gowanus property, which has been occupied by tenants such as coworking company Cowork.rs and marketing company Genius Media, TRD reported.

Since then, Samson has struggled to secure long-term tenants at the renovated candle factory, which was 57 percent leased as of January, as CO previously reported.

And the property ran into even more trouble last December, when coworking firm Bond Collective filed two Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions for its workspaces at 55 Broadway in Manhattan and 68 Third Street, also known as 92 Third Street, according to Crain’s New York Business.

Bond had been leasing about 50,000 square feet from Samson at the Third Street space since 2014, but the deal fell through after a new chief restructuring officer was appointed and the company stopped making rent payments at the property, Crain’s reported.

Bond is still operating its location at 55 Broadway, but it has since closed its Gowanus location, its website shows.

While 92 Third Street has experienced some distress in recent years, things have been working out for new owner Pearl Realty, which recently sold two dilapidated properties in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to developer TF Cornerstone for $175 million, as CO previously reported.

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