Projo Biz Blog

Journal archive photo / Sandor Bodo
The Turks Head Building is being sold.

PROVIDENCE - Granoff Associates LLC has sold the historic Turk's Head building in downtown Providence for $17.55 million to a Philadephia-based company, a Granoff representative confirmed.

"The property was not actively on the market," said Thomas V. Moses, a Providence lawyer who advises the Granoff family. "They were offered far beyond what the value was and were able to make a sizeable profit."

Brothers Evan and Lloyd Granoff bought the building, now 95 years old, in 1997 for $4.2 million. The brothers spent "millions" renovating the building during the decade they owned it, according to Moses.

The building is located in the heart of the city's financial district - it's the one with the rounded corner at the intersection of Weybosset and Westminster Streets. A scowling Turk's head is carved above the second floor and stares out over the streets.

The building became part of a block of properties they assembled in the city's financial district, which included The Arcade, a Weybosset Street building that was formerly home of the St. Francis Chapel, a parking garrage, and the Union Trust Building at 170 Westminster St. They are also partners in the One Ten Westminster hotel-condo project.

Last August, the Granoffs sold the 12-story Union Trust building to FB Capital Partners for $6.55 million. FB Capital Partners lists the same Philadelphia address as the entity that purchased the Turk's Head building, 76 Westminster St. LLC. The Turk's Head sale closed Feb. 8.

"It was almost with a heavy heart that they agreed to sell it," Moses said of the Turk's Head building.

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