Tahl Propp Equities buys Park Avenue building for a song.Thanks to its close relationship with two warring litigants, Tahl Propp Equities, a Manhattan-based real estate investment firm, has pulled off a major coup -- it has acquired the landmark glass trophy building at 510 Fifth Avenue for a surprisingly modest price of $22 million. The company, which is headed by investors Rodney M. Propp and Joseph A. Tahl, bought the 70,000-square-foot, five-story building at the corner of 43rd Street from The Chase Manhattan Bank The Chase Manhattan Bank, now part of JPMorgan Chase, was formed by the merger of the Chase National Bank and the Bank of the Manhattan Company in 1955. The bank is headquartered in New York City. . Chase Manhattan sold the building as part of its overall liquidation of its real estate holdings. That motivation to sell coupled with the fact that the building was at the center of litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. between Chase and one of its prominent tenants, fashion designer Elie Tahari You can improve this article by adding links to related material, within the existing text. After links have been created, remove this message. For more information, see the . Propp's family, which has long been involved in real estate in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , has banked with Chase for almost 90 years and rents space to Tahari at neighboring 520 Fifth Avenue. Chase was willing to sell 510 Fifth Avenue only to an investor who would indemnify the bank against any current and future claims made by Tahari. As part of the transaction, Tahari was made a limited partner in 510 Fifth Avenue. He had alleged that Chase had tried illegally to remove him from the building. Chase had alleged that the designer's sample room was a fire hazard fire hazard fire n that's a fire hazard → das ist feuergefährlich fire hazard n that's a fire hazard → comporta rischi in caso d'incendio and convinced a judge to shut down Tahari's operations for more than a month. "We've been on very good terms with both Chase and Tahari and we intend to keep it that way," said Propp. It was the building's "good modern design" and the fact that it inspired "many other New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. banks to create similar glass-walled banks" that led the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate 510 Fifth Avenue as a landmark. Prominent among its features is a 70-foot by 20-foot sculptural screen of hundreds of intersecting metal panels, designed by artist Harry Bertoia Harry Bertoia (b. March 10, 1915 in San Lorenzo, Pordenone, Italy. d. November 6, 1978 in Barto, Pennsylvania, United States, Obituary piece was an Italian-born artist and modern furniture designer. . The Bertoia screen and an accompanying mobile remain part of the collection of Chase Manhattan, but the bank has agreed to keep the artwork at the site as long as Tahl Propp owns the building. "It's a unique feature of what we consider to be a unique building," said Propp, who began his real estate career after working in research and risk arbitrage The purchase of stock in a corporation that appears to be the target of an imminent takeover in the hope of making large profits if the takeover occurs. Risk arbitrage is practiced by investors called risk arbitrageurs. on Wall Street. He and Tahl, former associate general counsel with The Trump Organization, founded Tahl Propp Equities three years ago after a decade of friendship. During the fourth quarter of 2000, Tahl Propp closed on about $100 million worth of property, including Newark's Three Gateway Center, 510 Fifth Avenue, and several Manhattan apartment buildings. "We have a knack at finding deals with hidden value," said Tahl, who decided to leave the relative security of real estate law to become a founding principal in the firm with Propp. "We focus first on limiting our downside. We wouldn't have bought 510 Fifth Avenue at the market rate." |
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