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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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The new owner of the Flatiron Building has failed to pay a down payment on the $190 million winning bid for the property by close of business on Friday last week, according to reports.
The news was reported by NY1, who learned from a source that Jacob Garlick, who had won the auction for the historic building, did not pay the $19 million required by the 10 percent down payment on the total bid. He was reportedly offered an extra day to make the payment but failed to meet that deadline as well.
It's bad news for the Flatiron Building, which was put on auction after a judge forced the previous owners to do so.
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Garlick, who currently works at a relatively small Northern Virginia-based venture capital company called Abraham Trust, surprised the real estate world by winning the bid for the iconic building on Wednesday last week as a relative outsider. After placing the highest bid for the building, he said: "It's been a lifelong dream of mine since I'm 14 years old."
He added: "I've worked every day of my life to be in this position. We're honored to be a steward of this historic building, and it will be our life's mission to preserve its integrity forever."
But Garlick's lifelong dream apparently lasted about a week. It's not yet clear why he failed to make the down payment, as he has not yet responded to requests for comment from the media.
The former co-owner of the Flatiron Building said they were surprised that somebody had offered so much money for the building in the first place.
Jeff Gural, whose family firm is one of the four co-owners of the building, holding already 75 percent of the Flatiron, and who was considered the most likely highest-bidder last week, told NY1 that he was surprised to be outbid by Garlick last week. "I never thought someone would bid so much for the building. It's a beautiful building, but it needs $100 million of upgrades, it's basically empty."
As the second-highest bidder, Gural—a well-known figure in New York real estate—will now be offered the building for $189.5 million, though he's likely to decline, according to reports, and wait for another auction that will grant him the chance to buy the building at a lower price.
The Flatiron Building is in the vicinity of Theodore Roosevelt's birthplace, which made the 2021 list of the top 50 most visited historic sites in the United States, and several New York restaurants visited by the women of Sex and the City.
Newsweek has emailed Abraham Trust, Garlick's Virginia firm, for a comment by the venture fund managing partner.
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