Times Square Property Moves for $136M

August 25, 2011
By Nicholas Ziegler, News Editor

If there’s one constant in Manhattan real estate, it’s that there’s always a deal going on. This week, it’s the news that 1552 Broadway in Times Square has changed hands, with a joint venture of SL Green and Wharton Acquisitions purchasing the property from the Riese Organization for $136.6 million.

The deal was brokered by Jones Lang LaSalle’s New York capital markets team.

The four-story landmark building, also known as the I. Miller Building, is located at the northeast corner of 46th Street and Broadway, across from Duffy Square. In addition to a four-story TGI Friday’s, the property features two prominent billboard signs on the Times Square “bow tie” and has approvals for a third sign.

“It’s a special property with huge potential. Times Square is the billboard capital of the world, and its retail rents are approaching those on Fifth Avenue in the ‘50s, with the highest levels in New York City,” Jon Caplan, vice chairman of JLL, said.

According to the Jones Lang LaSalle’s internal research, the purchase should prove lucrative for the new owners. The Times Square submarket of Manhattan leads Midtown with the lowest Class A vacancy rates in the city, at 8.6 percent. Midtown asking rents for the asset class have risen more than 16 percent since the market’s 2010 bottom, moving to $83.16 per square foot.