The Chrysler Building, which sold at a bargain price of $151 million to Aby Rosen and Michel Fuchs’ RFR through CBRE, may seem to portend a bleak sales market. But the low pricing — caused partially by the need for infrastructure improvements as well as hefty costs related to the ground lease — is not indicative of the market.
Another Midtown building, the classic 711 Fifth Ave. owned by Coca-Cola, for instance, is expected to trade through Cushman & Wakefield for a bubbly price — nearly $900 million. Although the former Ralph Lauren Polo flagship store at the base of the building is vacant, its Polo Bar restaurant has become a cozy favorite.
“It’s a good sign for the market that it is valuing it so high,” says Woody Heller of Savills. “It has the benefit of the Polo lease and office space. It has charm, and buildings that have a charm and emotional appeal tend to do well in the market.”
Brand-new space also sells. Over at Hudson Yards, the sale and leaseback of the 1½ million-square-foot WarnerMedia office condominium at 30 Hudson Yards, through Cushman, to the building’s developer, Related, is also good news as it could top $2 billion. Market insiders called it “the most exciting auction in the last 10 years” as bidders from around the globe proffered a combined $25 billion trying to capture a piece of the excitement at buzzy Hudson Yards.
“It’s a testament to the success of the project,” says Douglas Harmon of Cushman & Wakefield. Along with Coke and Warner, Harmon previously marketed Time Warner’s offices at Columbus Circle so it could purchase its new ones. Those old offices were bought by Related for $1.2 billion, a sum that was then reinvested by Time Warner into 30 Hudson Yards, where they have the 14th through 51st floors.
A building doesn’t need to be new to be buzzworthy: The Coca-Cola building has attracted similar attention, Harmon says. Second-round bids were due last week, so a winner should emerge soon. “It is the most sought-after opportunity in New York at this time,” Harmon adds.
The Chrysler sale — much lower than the roughly $800 million paid in 2013 — underscores one of the pitfalls of NYC real estate investment: a ground lease that has high rent. In the Chrysler’s case, Cooper Union owns the land and receives the rent payment, while RFR does not have to pay real estate taxes to the city. The latter would amount to roughly $21.3 million this year. Instead, its annual rent is more than $32 million.
The rising rent would wipe out most of the building’s income, which the city estimates at $82 million. There is an income stream from the adjacent “Trylons” retail space, which is owned separately on its own lot. Rosen also told Page Six that he expects to create a public observatory and bring in new restaurants. A hotel is also a possibility as office tenant leases end.
Two redeveloped Madison Avenue towers are also being marketed by CBRE. A 75 percent stake in a 845,000-square-foot building at 330 Madison is being sold by an Abu Dhabi Investment Authority venture. Its partner and the building’s developer, Vornado, has exercised an option to buy that share and hired HFF to resell it to another investor, revaluing the building at and is expected to fetch nearly nearly $1 billion. The other is the 284,000-square-foot tower at 540 Madison being sold by Boston Properties through CBRE with expectations of a $300 million price tag.
Downtown, the former AT&T headquarters at 195 Broadway, redeveloped by L&L Holding, is also for sale.
Smaller office buildings are also selling. For instance, in Chelsea and NoMad, Savanna is bulking up. It previously redeveloped 245-249 W. 17th St., which it sold after leasing to Twitter. In 2017, it bought 31 W. 27th St. for $126 million and last fall it bought 48 W. 25th St. for $90 million and is targeting others.
Other buyers, such as the Kaufman Organization, are competing for similar buildings. “We are busy trying to hunt for the off-market transactions,” says Kaufman’s Grant Greenspan. Kaufman controls numerous properties in the NoMad and Flatiron areas.
Jeff Mooallem, head of Gazit Horizons, which owns the Caesar’s Bay mall in Bensonhurst, sees the current market as beneficial to nimble buyers. “The challenge is finding the asset at the right price,” says Mooallem. “But we are well capitalized and can act fast. For the right price, nothing in Manhattan is unattractive.”
