It's another New York story.

The Clark Building on Liberty Avenue sold last week to a New York investor, becoming the fifth major office building to be bought with Big Apple dollars in the last year and a half.

"Most of the interested purchasers were out-of-state purchasers," said Nicholas Hoban, of Collier, who owned the building with his wife, Jo Lynn. "You take somebody from New York and they say, 'You know, I can't get this kind of return on investment where I live.' "

The 23-story building, home to the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute and dozens of jewelers, sold for $22.5 million.

That price amounts to $77 per square foot, a figure that thrilled Mr. Hoban. "I was extremely happy," he said.

"That is the highest price per square foot of a Class B building in Downtown Pittsburgh that I'm aware of. What that's going to do is that's going to reset the bar."

The 22-story National City building on Stanwix Street sold in February for $67 per square foot.

The new owner of the Clark Building, whose name was not released, plans to turn it into a science and robotics research facility. Mr. Hoban does not expect that the building's current tenants will be disturbed, saying only 77 percent of the building is occupied.

He and his wife put the building up for sale in early 2005 at an offering price of $23.3 million.

The couple, who founded the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute in 1986, bought the Clark Building in 1998 for $9.1 million and have spent $7.5 million in capital investments, including a new HVAC system, new windows and an electrical upgrade. In addition, Mr. Hoban gutted and restored the building's top five floors.

"The building wasn't modernized, it wasn't upgraded, it was kind of let go," he said. "I did the cosmetic surgery but I also did the heart transplant."

Built in 1927 and named for James W. Clark, the founder of MGM, the building was at one point a business and social center for movie magnates.

It is also in the immediate vicinity of the Cultural Trust's proposed $460 million housing development, which was announced earlier this week.