NEW YORK CITY-A primo elevator-apartment building along Manhattan’s “Gold Coast” in the West Village has changed hands. New York-based real estate family United Fifth LLC has purchased 12 Fifth Ave., a 10-story, 33-unit property located between 8th and 9th Streets, from seller Mar-Mart Realty Co. for $12.5 million, GlobeSt.com has learned exclusively.

The sales price represents $378,788 per unit, $640 per square foot and a cap rate of 3.29%, according to Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, who handled the transaction.

“From start to finish, we went from listing to contract in about 15 to 20 days,” says John Stewart, a multifamily investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Manhattan office, who represented the seller and also represented the buyer, in an interview with GlobeSt.com. “It was very quick and it had a high interest level.”

Stewart tells GlobeSt.com that the current ownership had been in-place for over 65 years, which offered the buyer an opportunity to reposition the asset. “What’s unusual is that there aren’t many elevator buildings in the West Village and owners don’t want to sell them,” he says. “It’s just a great place to own a building. It’s very safe and there’s a very low vacancy rate, and the rents are high.”

Originally constructed in 1906 as a hotel, the building was converted for residential in the 1940s. The building contains 14 one-bedroom/no-kitchen units, 12 two-room apartments, four three-room units and two four-room apartments. Out of these units, there are 17 free-market apartments, 12 rent stabilized, one rent-controlled, one owner-occupied and one super’s unit. The building also features approximately 6,690 square feet of air rights.

Stewart says the new owners are planning cosmetic upgrades to the interior of the building within the coming months, which could help attract new tenants to the neighborhood. “There’s very little trouble filling up units,” he says. “Part of the desirability is that it is incredible easy to re-rent units and the rents you get are high.”