NFT Building Purchased By A New York Real Estate Developer

The first non-fungible token office complex in New York City has been auctioned as interest in purchasing land in the metaverse grows.

It’s a 4,700 square meters NFT located at 44 West 37th Street. It operates as an irreversible asset aimed at monetizing and authenticating ownership of the building's digital assets and was purchased by real estate developer Azul NYC.

The 16-story structure, which raises questions about the role of architecture in real estate and the metaverse, was developed by Integrated Projects, which confirmed the sale at the beginning of September. Moreover, the 44W37 NFT was officially introduced on the decentralized, open-source blockchain Ethereum (ETH) and sold for only 1 ETH, currently worth around $1,300.

According to Jose Cruz Jr, Founder of Integrated Projects. "NFTs are not a new concept. Building 3D scans is not new...what is new is the combination of these technologies with blockchain utility is new, allowing building owners to create, own, transact, and generate revenue for their digital assets in the same way we do with our physical assets."‍

Owners can develop, contain, sell, and monetize their digital assets without the hassle of transferring property ownership.

This means that instead of selling or buying physical property, one deal in digital assets such as images, 3D scans, blueprints, travel guides, and location reports. Because the transaction is accelerated when using an NFT, a buyer can seize control of a piece of real estate in a short amount of time.

‍"The digital revolution of commercial properties is going to fundamentally alter how we design, build, operate, and commercialize our spaces," says Jack Ezon, Principal of Azul NYC.

Notably, it revealed last year that individuals could now acquire or sell property in New York City using Bitcoin (BTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Ethereum (ETH), so the latest NFT purchase represents the city's next stage of growth as investment opportunities in virtual property continue to look for investors.

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