139 Bowery Sells Again for $36M After $50M Bankruptcy Deal in May

A glassy building on the Bowery in Manhattan has secured a second sale in a matter of weeks. 

The mixed-use office and condo building at 139 Bowery, on the edge of Little Italy between Broome and Grand streets, is contracted to change hands from an entity tied to lender Emerald Creek Capital to the entity 139 Bowery Holdings for a reported $36 million. The forthcoming transaction, first reported in a Traded post, was brokered on behalf of the buyer by Coldwell Banker Warburg’s Alan Louie. 

New records illustrate the hot potato-like journey of the 14-story building this year. A little over one month ago — and two owners ago — 139 Bowery belonged to Global Joint Venture. The Manhattan real estate developer responsible for the condo and office project filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy via its president Hung Kwong Leung in May of last year, owing $32 million in mortgage debt to Emerald Creek Capital. 

Emerald Creek Capital’s entity, ECC Bowery, took control of the building for $49.5 million in late May as part of the property’s bankruptcy, according to a deed filed on Thursday. The subsequent sale of the property is in process, and is expected to close in the coming days, according to a spokesperson for Coldwell Banker Warburg.

Built in 2021, 139 Bowery spans 58,390 square feet along its busy Lower East Side corridor. It contains 14 commercial units spanning more than 33,000 square feet and 18 residential units. Previous reporting has placed a community center at the address as well.

Photos of the building dated as recently as March indicate it was actively marketed by Cushman & Wakefield, but a spokesperson for the brokerage told Commercial Observer that C&W had no involvement in the recent transactions. 

A spokesperson for Emerald Creek Capital did not respond to a request for comment. Global Joint Venture and 139 Bowery Holdings could not be reached for comment by press time. 

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