Marty and Eric Meyer, a father-and-son team at FirstService Williams, represented Savanna on the deal. The Meyers were selected to market this property based on their experience in selling similar assets in the Garment Center.

Savanna and a hedge fund partner initially invested in the property by originating a senior loan 18 months ago to the prior owners, the release states. Savanna subsequently bought out its hedge fund partner and then negotiated a deed in lieu of foreclosure with their borrower. Once Savanna owned the asset outright, the company then embarked on a two-pronged business plan of repositioning the building and launching an "aggressive" marketing program to sell it, the release states.

Savanna principal Kevin Chisholm says in the release that the strategy enabled his company "to turn a profit despite the horrific real estate market." Nick Bienstock, managing partner at Savanna, calls the sale "a testament to the resilience of the New York City real estate market. Despite the dearth of financing for value-added projects, we received substantial interest for this asset." He adds that this demonstrates that "even in today's severely constrained capital markets environment, there is liquidity for well-located, properly-priced, New York City real estate."