Charles Cohen Sells 2 Midtown Plots To Empire State Realty Trust
Empire State Realty Trust acquired the land under two of its Manhattan office towers from Charles Cohen, who is scrambling to raise $135M to save his real estate empire.
ESRT paid $110M for the ground at 111 W. 33rd St. and 1400 Broadway, the REIT announced Tuesday. ESRT had 51 and 38 years, respectively, remaining on the ground leases, which were held by an affiliate of Cohen Brothers Realty Corp., according to property records.
The real estate has been in the Cohen family for decades. In 2007, brothers Edward and Sherman Cohen, who founded the firm, transferred the two properties over to the company, according to property records.
In March, Charles Cohen, Sherman's son, was given 45 days to finalize property sales after defaulting on a $534M loan held by Fortress Investment Group that was secured in part by $187M in personal guarantees. If he fails to come up with enough cash, more than a dozen of his family's properties would be placed in receivership, a judge ruled.
That initial deadline was extended in April, and again in May to June 19. To extend the deadline, Cohen agreed to pay $12M to cover Fortress' attorney fees.
The lender has already auctioned off several of Cohen’s properties while the developer attempts to cover the debt through his own sales.
But his two sales to date — of 623 Fifth Ave. for $218M and 3 E. 54th St. for $141M, both to Vornado Realty Trust — only generated $52M of proceeds, leaving him more than $135M short of the required sum.
A representative for Cohen Brothers didn't immediately respond to Bisnow’s request for comment.
Also on Tuesday, ESRT announced that it closed on the sale of 250 W. 57th St., which it owned for nearly three decades, for $275M. The final price is $75M less than the property’s $350M asking price.
Namdar Realty Group was the buyer, sources confirmed to Bisnow. The company didn't immediately respond to Bisnow’s request for comment.
ESRT, led by CEO Anthony Malkin, recycled the capital into its December acquisition of 130 Mercer St., the Scholastic Building in SoHo, which it bought for $386M. The deal allowed the company to defer taxes on the sale of 250 W. 57th, it said in a release.
The strategy is part of the REIT’s effort to sell underperforming assets and redeploy the proceeds into New York City multifamily, retail and office assets with lower capital expenditures. It shed 1.8M SF of suburban assets between 2022 and 2025, and its portfolio now solely contains investments in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
ESRT expects recent changes will reduce its capex by approximately $140M by 2030, according to an investor presentation filed on Tuesday.
Built in 1929, 250 W. 57th St. has been in the Malkin family since 1998, according to property records. It was transferred in 2013 from Malkin Holdings to ESRT for nearly $170M.
In 2020, Morgan Stanley provided a $180M loan to modernize the building. Namdar will assume the debt as part of the transaction.
Newmark’s Adam Spies, Josh King, Avery Silverstein and Ben Lushing represented ESRT in the deal.
