NEW YORK CITY-A five-story, elevatored apartment building with a penthouse at 62-64 E. 34th St. in Manhattan's Murray Hill neighborhood was sold for $13.5 million by Dr. Alexander Pireno, GlobeSt.com has learned. A source close to the deal tells us that the buyer was BFC Developers.

The 43-plus-foot-wide property is located on the south side of East 34th Street between Park and Madison avenues. It's fully occupied with two stores on the ground floor, a commercial office on the second floor and rent stabilized apartments and eight free-market apartments on the upper floors. The source notes that the property has 52,995 buildable sf. They also explain that the buyer was interested in the property's original detail.

Originally just 62 E. 34th St., 64 was added in 1879. The buildings were later combined for commercial space on the lower floors but still maintain much of the original detail on the upper floors. The building contains approximately 17,180 sf. The transaction occurred at a capitalization rate of 3.2%. The source says that at nearly $800 per sf, the seller chose to sell because "the price was right." The source also notes that the sale price was average market value.

"With the current development market remaining attractive, and substantial activity going on near this building, the property presents a likely opportunity to become a prime development site," notes Massey Knakal vice chairman John Ciraulo, who exclusively represented the seller. Massey Knakal Realty Services and Laurence Roberts of Arch Brokerage Ltd. were the brokers in this transaction.