SCOTT Lawlor’s Broad way Partners have swooped in and tied up 450 W. 33rd St. for north of $700 million.
The chunky former John Hancock Building is being almost entirely recapitalized by Joseph Chetrit and his investors through Douglas Harmon of Eastdil Secured.
A slender tower of about 800,000 feet can be added to the 1.7 million foot chunky, sloping structure that’s home to both the Daily News and the Associated Press wire service.
Harmon confirmed to us the deal went to contract but would not discuss any of the details of the complicated transaction.
“They are evaluating how best to maximize the value of the assets,” Harmon said of Lawlor’s group.
As we revealed in last week’s column, the building was on the market but it has become obvious that buyers have to move fast to grab that brass ring.
Harmon is also advising the same partnership on the marketing of 200 Fifth Ave., also known as the International Toy Building.
The roughly 800,000 foot curved, 1910-era – but renovated – building will be delivered into the new owners mostly vacant aside from retailers that include the popular Cipriani catering facility.
“The Toy Building is situated at the crossroads of Fifth Ave., Broadway, 23rd St. and Madison Square Park and there are as many hotel players as office buyers competing with those that are interested in residential and retail,” said Harmon of the offering. Stay tuned.
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As we reported yesterday, three Newmark Knight Frank retail brokers, Benjamin Fox, Gary Alterman and Stephen Asch have left.
Fox will join Winick Realty Group while the other brokers will go to Robert K. Futterman & Associates.
NKF recently promoted three young brokers and is seeking a major acquisition of a firm that specializes in retail. A Newmark spokeswoman said, “We were going in a different direction and we wish them well.”
The three had sold their company New Spectrum to Newmark back in 1999
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The all-around entertaining Beyoncé just took an additional floor of 9,000 feet for 10 years at 1384 Broadway as expansion space for her fashionable House of Dereon and for her parent’s management group and music company, Music World Music.
The asking rent in the building owned by the Chetrit Group was $42 a foot.
The deal was arranged directly with Joseph Chetrit by entertainment brokers Brian Waterman and Lance Korman of Newmark Knight Frank who worked on behalf of the Dreamgirl.
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The Chinese Contemporary Gallery, which currently has locations in London and Beijing, signed a six-year lease for 3,000 feet on the third floor of 535 W. 24th St.
The asking rent was $38 per foot for the last of the spaces in the building owned by GTM Associates.
Michelle Stone of Sinvin Realty, the exclusive broker for the property, was the sole broker.
The building already has numerous galleries, along with both a fashion and furniture showroom.
Recently, Bodhi Art, which has headquarters both in India and Singapore, leased the entire fourth floor of the building.
