Silverstein Under Contract To Acquire ABC's Upper West Side Complex In $1B Deal
Silverstein Properties has been laser-focused on building and leasing up the World Trade Center, but Larry Silverstein now has a billion-dollar property on Manhattan's Upper West Side to play with.
Silverstein is under contract to pay The Walt Disney Co. more than $1B to acquire several buildings on West 66th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue that make up ABC's New York City headquarters, Commercial Observer reports. The buildings include the 22-story, 420K SF 77 West 66th St.
Silverstein's bid beat out Related Cos., but it is still looking to finance the acquisition, CO reports. The acquisition would also include the 310K SF, three-building complex at 47 West 66th St.
Disney is assessing its New York City real estate portfolio as it moves to acquire Twenty-First Century Fox in a $52.4B deal. Fox, under the stewardship of Rupert Murdoch, had a verbal agreement to anchor 2 World Trade Center, the next piece of Silverstein's multibillion-dollar rebirth of the World Trade Center complex, but backed out in 2016 and decided to stay in place at 1211 Sixth Ave.
At the time, Silverstein said it would not be long before 2 WTC found a replacement anchor for the 110-story supertall designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, but his firm is still searching.
It remains to be seen whether the new portfolio of properties, which exceeds 1M SF, will need a new tenant before long; Disney and Fox's merger has not yet closed, and Comcast is reportedly trying to outbid Mickey Mouse for Rupert Murdoch's entertainment company.
