Kaufman JV Buys Manhattan Tower for $93M

875 Avenue of the Americas. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

Kaufman Investments, together with Beacon Capital Partners, has acquired 875 Avenue of the Americas, a 26-story office tower in Manhattan, for $92.5 million. Lee & Associates NYC represented the seller, which was the owner of the building since 1975.

As part of the current deal, the asset became subject to a $53.4 million loan, provided by Genworth Financial, with a maturity date set for 2032, the same data provider shows.

Completed in 1926, the 265,000-square-foot building underwent cosmetic renovations in 2013. The LEED-certified tower features eight passenger elevators, controlled access and 9,000 square feet of retail space. The new owners plan to further renovate the asset.

The tenant roster includes Zero Point Zero Productions and Ken Burns Media, as well as The Cambridge Insurance Agency, Milliken & Co., Holt Construction and Musicians Foundation, among others.

READ ALSO: Leasing Activity Animates Slow Manhattan Office Market

Located at the intersection of West 31st Street and Sixth Avenue in the NoMad neighborhood, 875 Avenue of the Americas is near Koreatown, the Empire State Building and Penn Station. The building’s strategic position was one of the decision factors that pertained to the transaction, Kaufman President & Principal Michael Kazmierski said in a prepared statement. The redevelopment of Penn Station is now moving forward, as Governor Kathy Hochul announced the new plans at the end of June.

Kazmierski, together with Kaufman Vice President Lorenzo Bakewell-Stone, led the acquisition. The Lee & Associates NYC team was led by Senior Managing Director Chris Varjan.

Recent office deals in Manhattan

Apart from office leases, several other large deals closed in the past few months in the borough. IAC Corp. paid $80 million for the land under 555 W. 18th St.— its headquarters building in Manhattan. Additionally, a significant transaction took place last month when SL Green Realty Corp. sold a 49.9 percent stake in 245 Park Ave. to Tokyo-based developer and investor Mori Trust Co. The deal valued the 1.8 million-square-foot building at $2 billion.

Manhattan is leading the U.S. office market in terms of asking rents and sale prices. In May, the borough had an average full-service equivalent listing rate of $85.9, a 0.7 percent increase in the last 12 months, a recent CommercialEdge report shows. The market registered $1.1 billion in sales year-to-date through May, with an asking price of $698 per square foot.