AvalonBay is buying 1865 Broadway, the longtime home of the American Bible Society, for $300M.
The Virginia-based REIT beat out about 25 other bidders for the site on the corner of Broadway and 61st. It plans to knock down the existing 12-story building and break ground late next year on a luxe condo/retail project with more than 300k buildable SF. "It's very rare for a development site of this quality to come to market as one piece," Cushman & Wakefield EVP Helen Hwang told the Wall Street Journal. Normally, she said, developers have to assemble a site through multiple land buys.
The Bible Society is moving its HQ to Philadelphia (playing the role of the Red Sea in tonight's performance: the Delaware River). C&W is advising them on finding a new space. They're also on the hunt for a new, smaller office in Manhattan. The nonprofit, around for 199 years, has had its HQ at 1865 Broadway for over 50 years.
