Despite reports that the Vanbarton Group was selling 175 Water St., the former headquarters of global insurance giant AIG, to reclusive Cayman Islands-based billionaire Ken Dart, a different buyer was announced this week.
99c LLC, a British specialty financing and development firm focused on adaptive reuse, acquired the 31-story tower with 684K SF of rentable office space for $252M, it announced.
The Vanbarton Group was represented by a JLL Capital Markets Investment Sales advisory team, led by Andrew Scandalios, David Giancola, Vickram Jambu, Marion Jones, Steven Rutman and Alexander Riguardi, according to a release.
TOP SALES
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SMA Equities and financial backer David Moussazadeh acquired a 92% stake in the Hirsch family’s 280 East Houston St., The Real Deal reports. Moussazadeh and SMA, owned by Manhattan landlord Samy Mahfar, paid $36.8M for the site and have plans to develop a six-story, 67-unit residential building. The Hirsch family began work prior to the expiration of the 421-a tax abatement earlier this year and did enough foundation work to qualify.
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Real estate investment firm Regal Ventures purchased 897 Eighth Ave., a grocery-anchored retail and parking condo in Hell’s Kitchen, for $35.3M from Prudential Financial, Crain’s New York Business reports. Gristedes supermarket serves as the property’s retail anchor, and its fellow tenants include Pick a Bagel, Da Tommaso Ristorante and Metro Cleaners, according to Connect CRE.
TOP LEASES
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MGM Studios has signed a 50K SF lease with the Sapir Organization at its 22-story 260 Madison Ave. office tower, according to a release. The landlord also signed 1-800-Accountant to a 12K SF lease in the 70-year-old building that the Sapir Organization purchased in 1997. Peter Turchin, Gregg Rothkin, Tim Freydberg, Hayden Pascal and Jared London of CBRE repped the Sapir Organization in both transactions, and Lester Bleckner & Shaw LLP’s David Levy and Ian Lester provided legal counsel.
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BLDG Management has signed five leases spanning 18K SF at its 424 Madison Ave. office tower, Commercial Observer reports. Japanese Medical Care will move into a 5K SF space on the seventh floor for 10 years, replacing PR firm Rooney & Associates, with representation from Ubiq NY’s Piero Massimino. Women’s fertility center Alignage Fertility signed for 3K SF on part of the 12th floor for 10 years in a deal brokered by Mark Roopchan of Prime Manhattan for Alignage. Jeweler Verstandig & Sons took 3K SF on part of the ninth floor, and OfficeNYC.com’s Max Vizgalin negotiated a deal for medical office JKB2 Medical Management’s 3K SF, 10-year lease. Asking rents were reportedly between $55 and $59 per SF. Jordan Donohue and Paul Walker of CBRE represented the landlord in all transactions.
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L.H. Charney Associates’ Times Square office property, 1441 Broadway, signed two leases this week totaling just over 34K SF, CO reports. Berkshire Hathaway-owned shoe manufacturer H.H. Brown Shoe Co. renewed its 23K SF space, having first moved into the property in 2012. Advertising firm SpotCo took 11K SF, moving from its current location at 114 West 41st St. Michael Joseph, Rick Doolittle, J.P. Howard and Taylor Bell of Colliers represented the landlord in the deals, while Norman Bobrow & Co. repped SpotCo, and H.H. Brown Shoe Co. didn't work with a broker.
TOP FINANCING
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Valley National Bank agreed to lend Chess Builders $135M in construction financing for a planned multifamily building in Brooklyn's Vinegar Hill neighborhood, Commercial Observer reported. The developer plains to build a 218-unit apartment project at 218 Front St., 66 of which would be income-restricted. Urban Realty Partners reportedly bought the site from Emily Wang a year ago for $48.5M and then ground-leased it to Chess Builders. Leah Paskus and Pinchas Vogel of Sandstone Capital Group arranged the financing for Chess Builders and Valley National.
