General Tools: Historic Tribeca building trades hands for $21M

A storied Tribeca property that dates back to the mid-19th century has sold for $21 million.General Hardware Manufacturing Co. has sold 80 White St. to investor Behrooz Hedvat, according to property records. The 6-story mixed-use property spans about 40,000 square feet, and General Hardware appears to have owned it since at least 1985, city records show.Hedvat has received a $13 million mortgage on the property from lender Argentic Real Estate Finance, records show. Hedvat and representatives for General Hardware and Argentic did not respond to requests for comment by press time, and Hedvat's plans for the building were unclear.The building at 80 White St. was constructed back in 1867 for the carpet dealer Elias S. Higgins & Co., according to city records. It also appears to have been home to an auctioneering firm and used as office, storage and shipping space. The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission designated it as part of the Tribeca East Historic District in late 1992, records show.General Hardware, meanwhile, dates back to 1922, when Abe and Lillian Rosenberg founded it as a wholesaler of items ranging from hand tools to screen-door hardware, according to the firm's website. It stayed family-run for three generations until 2014, when High Road Capital Partners purchased the company, which is also known as General Tools. It then became part of Ohio-based company Worthington Industries (now Worthington Enterprises) in 2021, according to its website.General Hardware seems to still be located at 80 White St., and it was unclear if this would change given Hedvat's purchase of the property.This is at least the second deal Hedvat has made this summer. He also purchased 16 W. 39th St., a Midtown property near Amazon's offices at the former Lord & Taylor building, in June for $18 million, records show.