Merchants Bank has appointed CBRE to market the fee interest in 19 W. 55th St., a vacant residential property in Midtown Manhattan. The nine-story building features continuous retail frontage along West 55th Street, positioning it directly within one of New York City’s most established commercial and residential corridors. CBRE professional Daniel Kaplan has been selected by the bank to lead the assignment and oversee the sale process.
The mandate focuses on a fully vacant structure that offers both vertical scale and ground-level visibility. With nine stories of residential space and uninterrupted retail frontage at the base, the property presents a mix of potential uses for investors seeking exposure to Midtown Manhattan. According to Kaplan, assets offering fee interest ownership in this immediate area are scarce, underscoring the property’s profile within a tightly supplied core location.
Historically known as The Branson, 19 W. 55th St. was constructed in 1920 and totals 39,000 square feet. The property’s vintage and scale position it as a mid-rise residential building with a long-established presence just off one of Manhattan’s main thoroughfares. While the building is currently vacant, its size and site orientation provide a platform for a new owner to reposition the asset within the Midtown market, subject to applicable approvals and business plans not detailed in the available information.
The asset came under Merchants Bank’s control following a foreclosure completed this past July, according to published reports cited in the source material. The prior owner had pursued a plan to convert the building into luxury condominiums, but that strategy was delayed as the developer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on two separate occasions. Those filings ultimately contributed to the drawn-out timeline and the eventual foreclosure by Merchants Bank.
With CBRE now engaged to market the fee interest, the process moves from enforcement to disposition, as the bank seeks to transfer ownership to a new investor. Specific pricing guidance, marketing timelines, and targeted buyer profiles were not disclosed. However, the combination of a vacant 39,000-square-foot residential building, continuous retail frontage, and a Midtown Manhattan address places the offering within a segment of the market that continues to attract institutional and private capital focused on well-located urban assets.
