Spitzer’s RE Company Spends $88M for Manhattan Property

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Eliot Spitzer                  Photo Courtesy: Lindsey Beyerstein

Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has wrapped up a notable Manhattan purchase for the family real estate firm, Spitzer Enterprises. Spitzer just acquired 511 W. 35th St., a 17,281-square-foot development site at the burgeoning Hudson Yards, from Alloy Development in a speedy $88 million transaction. News of the trade was first reported by The Real Deal.

“It’s a price that is indicative of the growing strength and popularity of the Hudson Yards marketplace,” Robert Knakal, chairman of Massey Knakal Realty Services, told Commercial Property Executive. Massey Knakal marketed the property on behalf of Alloy, and represented both seller and buyer in the transaction. “More and more people are coming to realize that that neighborhood is probably going to be the most dynamic neighborhood in the city in years to come so values are appreciating relative to that sentiment.”

Robert Knakal, of Massey Knakal

Talk about a profit.  According to the New York City Department of Finance records, the site last changed hands in 2007, when Alloy purchased it for $24 million.

“Alloy acquired the site with the intention of developing it but they’ve become much more active in the outer boroughs and so they realized that the value of this site had gone up very significantly and decided to take advantage of that increase in value to go look for other opportunities,” Knakal added.

Judging by investors’ response to the asset, Alloy’s timing was right. Massey Knakal received several bids for the property, which was on the market for less than 30 days from the time it hit the market to the moment the transaction closed. “It moved at light speed,” he added.

According to Knakal, Spitzer Enterprises doesn’t have any firm plans in place for the 511 35th St. just yet; however, the property is zoned to accommodate development of up to roughly 415,000 square feet.