Empire State Realty Trust Quickly Unloads 1359 Broadway
Tony Malkin’s Empire State Realty Trust wasted little time offloading a Garment District office building as the company’s transaction spree continues.
Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities purchased the property at 1359 Broadway for $218 million, the Commercial Observer reported. The deal for the 486,000-square-foot building breaks down to more than $448 per square foot.
The sale comes a little more than a month after ESRT reportedly began marketing the 22-story office property, aiming for a deal around $225 million, or $462 per square foot. The deal was expected to involve the simple fee interest of the property at the corner of Broadway and 36th Street, which isn’t encumbered by debt.
A Newmark team including Adam Spies, Josh King and Adam Doneger led the property’s marketing. ESRT and Thor did not respond to the Observer’s requests for comment.
The property is 95 percent leased to a tenant roster including SLCE Architects, Braven and recent addition Infinium Wall Systems, which signed a 30,000-square-foot lease last month. Retail tenants include Wolfgang’s Steakhouse and a Japanese restaurant.
Malkin’s real estate investment trust has been diversifying its portfolio, pivoting away from office buildings into areas like multifamily and retail.
In June, the firm acquired the land beneath two Midtown properties — 111 West 33rd Street and 1400 Broadway — from developer Charles Cohen for $110 million; ESRT was already the leaseholder for the pair of buildings.
In April, Igal Namdar’s Namdar Realty Group entered into contract to buy the 540,000-square-foot office building at 250 West 57th Street from Empire State Realty Trust for approximately $280 million, a purchase price significantly lower than the $350 million ESRT had been asking for the property earlier in the year.
ESRT also signed a deal to buy the Scholastic Building in Soho from its namesake owner towards the end of last year for $386 million.
It’s been a quieter period for Sitt’s firm. It last made big news in March when it purchased the fully leased, 58,000-square-foot office and retail building at 1165 Broadway in the NoMad district from David Haddad for $56 million.
Read more
Empire State Realty Trust transaction spree set to rage on
Thor drops $56M on NoMad office, retail building
Charles Cohen continues mad dash for cash
