This Week’s N.Y. Deal Sheet: Kirkland & Ellis Expands Beyond 601 Lex
Law firm Kirkland & Ellis plans to open a large office around the corner from its Manhattan hub.
The Chicago-based firm signed a 131K SF lease last month at 900 Third Ave., according to a JLL report provided to Bisnow. A spokesperson for the firm confirmed that it is “opening another location for our New York office in response to our growth and anticipated future needs.”
“We are excited to add this new space, which is around the corner from our existing location,” the spokesperson told Bisnow in a statement.
Kirkland & Ellis' 400K SF lease at BXP's 601 Lexington Ave. runs until 2039. The 1.7M SF tower was 96% occupied at the end of last year, according to BXP's annual report.
Its expansion into 900 Third, which sits across East 54th Street from 601 Lex, is a win for the building's majority owner, Paramount Group. The nearly 600K SF, Class-A tower was 69% occupied at the end of last year, according to Paramount's annual report.
The REIT sold a 45% stake in the building in January at a $210M valuation, well below the $400M Paramount was asking for in 2019.
Cushman & Wakefield represented both the landlord and the tenant in the deal, according to JLL. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed. A Cushman spokesperson declined to comment.
Spokespeople for Kirkland & Ellis and Paramount didn't respond to Bisnow’s request for comment.
TOP LEASES
AmTrust RE has inked two tenants to a total of 60K SF at 360 Lexington Ave., according to a release. The 268K SF office building, which AmTrust bought in November, is now 80% leased. Long-term tenant Webster Bank signed a renewal and expansion to occupy a total of 46K SF, tacking an extra 15K SF to its space in the building. Insurance company Signers National signed a new lease in the building for 15K SF. Its current headquarters are at SL Green’s 420 Lexington Ave., according to the company’s LinkedIn. JLL’s Jeff Szczapa and Drew Saunders repped Webster Bank, while Mitchell Konsker, Ben Bass, Barbara Winter and Thomas Swartz, also of JLL, repped AmTrust.
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Geller & Co. signed a 45K SF lease at Global Holdings’ 99 Park Ave., the landlord announced. The financial services and strategic advisory firm is relocating from 909 Third Ave. to part of the ninth floor and the entire 10th floor in the 26-story tower, which will serve as its new headquarters. The Class-A tower, owned by Eyal Ofer's Global Holdings since 1990, is now 85% leased. The deal was arranged by Cushman & Wakefield’s Bryan Boisi and Romanoff Realty Services’ Stuart Romanoff for the tenant. Global Holdings’ Craig Panzirer and Alex Radmin repped the landlord along with JLL’s Paul Glickman, Diana Biasotti, Kristen Morgan and Harrison Potter.
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Credit intelligence and data firm Octus, formerly known as Reorg, has signed a 43K SF lease at 295 Fifth Ave., according to a release. The 1920-built, 710K SF office building is owned by Tribeca Investment Group, PGIM Real Estate and Meadow Partners. CBRE’s David Hollander, Mary Ann Tighe, Peter Turchin, Brett Shannon, Liz Lash and Hayden Pascal represented ownership in the transaction. Octus was represented by Taylor Bell of Colliers.
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Buzzfeed is downsizing into 42K SF at 50 W. 23rd St., Commercial Observer reported. The digital media company will occupy the partial fifth and entire sixth floor of the Two Trees Management-owned building in a relocation from its 107K SF sublease at 229 W. 43rd St. it signed in 2022. Asking rents in its new digs are $68 to $70 per SF. Two Trees’ Alyssa Zahler brokered the deal in-house for the landlord, while CBRE’s Christopher Mansfield, Jason Frazier and Jesse de la Rama represented the tenant.
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German grocery chain Lidl is opening a 27K SF store at Goose Property Management’s 597 Grand St. in East Williamsburg, The Real Deal reported. The grocer will serve as the retail anchor at the base of the 185-unit apartment building. Schuckman Realty’s Kenneth Schuckman and Jessica Vilmenay repped the tenant. Goose’s Jacob Katz represented the landlord in-house, Commercial Observer reported.
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Wholesale marketplace Faire has signed for 20K SF at Winter Properties’ 26 W. 17th St., Commercial Observer reported. The tenant took the ninth and 12th floors of the property, bringing it to full occupancy, in what appears to be a relocation from the Greenwich Village office the marketplace leased in 2022. Faire had representation from CBRE’s Conor Krup, Jeff Fischer and Sacha Zarba.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
Nortco Development nabbed a $170M construction loan from BHI and Northwind Group for its 18-story, 36-unit luxury condo project at 200 W. 88th St., according to a release. Nortco acquired the property in 2022, having previously acquired three other properties between West 87th and West 88th streets for $46M in late 2018, The Real Deal reported, although it’s unclear if those will be part of the condo development.
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Gotham Organization netted a $259.7M construction loan for a 460-unit rental development at 35 Inspiration Lane in East New York, PincusCo reported. Gotham is building the 471K SF building in partnership with Christian Cultural Center, which also signed as a borrower. The funding came from the NYC Housing Development Corp.
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Tishman Speyer’s affordable housing platform, TS Communities, scored $166M in construction financing for its 100% affordable housing development at 337 Beach 52nd St. in Far Rockaway, Edgemere Commons A2, according to a release. Financing for the 244-unit development was led by New York State Homes and Community Renewal, with Citi Community Capital providing a letter of credit and Hudson Housing Capital securing an equity investment from the purchase of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. The funding will allow for construction on the 18-story building to kick off this month, the developer said. The building will set aside 73 units as supportive housing, while the rest will be reserved for residents earning between 40% and 80% of the area median income.
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Stellar Management refinanced a 150K SF office building at 218 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood for $80M, PincusCo reported. The lender was Lone Star Funds. Stellar Management and partner Imperium Capital control the neo-gothic property via a ground lease, while the ground owner is an affiliate of Dino Tomassetti Jr. Lone Star bought the original loan on the 21-story, 170K SF building, also known as 220 Fifth Ave., from Flagstar Bank.
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Harbor Group International notched a $76.2M refinancing with NewPoint Real Estate Capital for its 193-unit apartment building at 564 St Johns Place in Crown Heights, PincusCo reported. The sum replaces an $87.8M loan from Flagstar Bank. Harbor Group bought the 137K SF building in 2019 for $117M from Toby Moskovits and Michael Lichtenstein.
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Dwight Capital loaned $48.8M to Shimon Lefkowitz through the entity Palm Gardens Care Center to refinance 615 Ave. C in Kensington, PincusCo reported. The 89K SF Brooklyn building is home to an elder care center. The new debt replaces a $42.8M sum from Webster Bank.
TOP SALES
Malachite Group dropped $18.4M on 72 Nassau St., a 10-unit mixed-use building in the Financial District, PincusCo reported. The price is a deep discount from its previous sale: Seller Hidrock Properties bought the building for $36M in 2019 with plans to build a 30-story hotel on the site, the New York Post reported at the time. Plans for the building’s future are unclear.
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The property home to one of the East Village’s oldest dive bars has sold, Crain’s New York Business reported. The Sabet Group bought 224 Ave. B, a six-story building with Mona's on its ground floor, for $13M from Herbert Hirsch. Citizens Bank provided an $8.5M loan to aid the acquisition of the 26-unit property, which also has a nail salon as a tenant.
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A Sunset Park building housing a detox and outpatient facility for individuals fighting substance abuse disorders has changed hands for $11.4M, PincusCo reported. Joel Zupnick bought office property at 449 39th St. from Samuel Benitez, who was facing a $4M preforeclosure filing from 2023 from Providence Bank.
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Gould Investors sold 86 University Place, a four-unit mixed-use building in Greenwich Village, to David Switzer for $8M, PincusCo reported. The sale price is below the $13.7M Switzer paid for the building in 2013.
