This Week's N.Y. Deal Sheet
Deal flow continued to chug along into the unofficial start of summer, including investment sales around the city and several large office leases in Lower Manhattan.
TOP SALES
A Texas rugmaker paid Five Points Development $53M for a Midtown South office tower, 260 Fifth Ave., property records show. Amir Loloi paid $6M less than Five Points bought the property for in 2016, according to city deed records. The sale comes as the investment sales market in Manhattan remains largely quiet — last quarter, only four office buildings changed hands in the borough as availability hit a record high. Loloi is the founder of Dallas-based rug manufacturing company Loloi Rugs.
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Northeast Capital Group bought six office buildings totaling 629K SF at 485 U.S. Route 1 in Iselin, New Jersey, 30 miles outside the city, The Real Deal reported. Nationally, suburban office markets are expected to rebound faster than city office markets, according to a CBRE report on the 2021 outlook. KBS Realty, represented by Newmark's Kevin Welsh and Brian Schultz, sold the properties for a combined $88M to the Ramapo, New York-based Northeast Capital, per TRD.
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Realterm Logistics bought a warehouse at 900 East 138th St. in the Bronx from Kentucky-based recycling company Parallel Products for $38M, property records show. The property is currently Parallel Products' New York location. Realterm told the New York Business Journal it is currently searching for investments to make in New York City; together with J.P. Morgan, the company invested in 1.7M SF of industrial space across 54 properties in several cities, including New York, earlier this year, GlobeSt reported.
TOP LEASES
Fairfield County-based finance company Ellington Management Group inked its first-ever New York City lease for 20K SF at SL Green’s 711 Third Ave. The company has an office in Greenwich and one in London. Asking rent was $63 per SF, according to an SL Green spokesperson. Stephen Baker and Andrew Ross of Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the lease for the tenant.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission expanded its footprint at Brookfield Properties’ 200 Vesey St. to 303K SF, according to a Colliers monthly office leasing snapshot of May. The government agency previously took up 250K SF and planned to downsize its footprint a few years ago, the New York Post reported in 2018. In April 2020, the commission also inked a lease at 241K SF lease at 100 Pearl St. in one of the biggest pandemic-era deals in New York City that year. This was supposed to replace its 200 Vesey St. location, Commercial Observer reported last September.
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Financial tech company Fiserv Inc. penned a new 94K SF lease at Midtown Equities’ 1 Broadway in FiDi, according to Colliers. The Wisconsin-based company will move its New York location from Midtown at 11 East 51st St. The building, originally developed in 1919, is being repositioned to include 225K SF of retail and office space, according to the landlord’s website. Rockwood Capital is listed as a partner on the project.
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Health Insurance company Anthem Inc. will take up 73K SF at Vornado’s Penn 1, according to Colliers. The office building near Penn Station is still being redeveloped, according to Vornado’s website. When it is finished, it will include a 35K SF wellness center, 80K SF of flexible office space and 20K SF of flexible conferencing space, per the site. Anthem joins Cisco Systems and Citigroup as tenants in the building.
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The South African General Consulate inked a 52K SF lease at Rudin Management Co.'s 845 Third Ave., according to Colliers. The building, located on the corner of 52nd Street, is blocks away from the United Nations in Midtown East. It will be a move from the consulate’s current location at 333 East 38th St. on the corner of Second Avenue.
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Russian bakery Wolkonsky Bakery & Café will open its first United States location, an 8,100 SF shop at Jack Resnick & Sons’ 8 West 40th St. near Bryant Park, the landlord announced. The Moscow-based company has dozens of locations around Russia and Ukraine, according to the announcement. Companies such as Middlegate Securities and the Altman Foundation are office tenants in the 22-story building, according to its website.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
The Durst Organization refinanced its debt on 114 West 47th St. with a $331.3M loan from Bank of America, Citibank and Wells Fargo, PincusCo. Media reports. This replaces its previous $300M loan with Citibank. The office building, located in Times Square, is leased to tenants such as Bank of America Private Wealth Management and IFM Investors, according to its website.
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Square Mile Capital Management lent Bruman Realty $145M to refinance its debt on 260 Gold St. in Brooklyn, Commercial Observer reports. The building, finished last year, contains 286 apartments, 86 of which are affordable, as well as amenity spaces such as a pet spa and a gym, according to New York YIMBY.
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RIMCO scored a $39M loan from Citigroup for 335 West 16th St., Commercial Observer reports. The five-story Chelsea office building was developed in 1920, according to StreetEasy, and The School of Visual Arts renewed its 54K SF lease for the whole building in 2018 for 20 years starting in 2022, CO reported at the time.
