Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Providence Journal/Gretchen Ertl
Looking up at the Turk's Head building in downtown Providence.

The 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 garage, and the Union Trust Building at 170 Westminster St. The Granoffs 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.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Grimaldi

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