New York City Buildings sold
An investment fund affiliated with residential and commercial property owner Stonehenge Partners closed on the $67.34 million purchase of the former St. Vincent's Hospital residential building at 555 Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village. Investors in the purchase include an entity called SITQ, which is a subsidiary of Canadian investment fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and another Canadian institutional investor. Stonehenge won the 180,000-square-foot building in an auction which followed the bankruptcy of the hospital in April.Hotel owners Richard Born and Ira Drukier, principals with BD Hotels, led a partnership that bought a former women's residence in Murray Hill for $28 million from the Salvation Army. BD Hotels plans to rehabilitate the vacant, 17-story property at 145 East 39th Street, between Third and Lexington avenues, and open it as a hotel before the end of 2011. The 98,815-square-foot building was constructed in 1918 as a hotel called the Allerton House, and was designated a landmark by the city in 2008.
Thor Equities closed on a deal to purchase the Takashimaya building at 693 Fifth Avenue for $142 million. Thor also announced the start of renovations for the property. The building is currently a mix of retail and commercial uses, but after the renovation, the first eight floors will be transformed into 6,000 square feet of retail space, while floors nine through 20 will keep their original design. The existing granite columned façade will also be replaced with a more modern glass one.
A Beirut-based investment group is in contract to buy the landmark Argonaut Building at 224 West 57th Street from the Hearst Corporation. The investors, an affiliate of M1 Group, had already inked a 99-year ground lease on the property in 2008 and had been renovating the 164,800-square-foot, mostly-vacant building ever since. The 1909, Francis Kimball-designed building is getting a $45 million upgrade by Architects Gensler, with an end goal of LEED gold certification.
NYC Buildings For Sale
The California State Teachers' Retirement System is selling its majority stake in 120 Broadway, a 40-story office tower and historic landmark co-owned by developer Larry Silverstein. CalSTRS, the second-largest public pension fund in the country, is hoping to profit from its 2004 investment in the skyscraper. Silverstein may hold onto his interest.The owners of the Milford Plaza Hotel are testing the waters to assess interest in selling the 1,300-room hotel at 700 Eighth Avenue between 44th and 45th streets. The hotel, owned by an affiliate of Ogden Cap Properties, which is controlled by real estate bigwig Philip Milstein, has been closed since December for a complete renovation. But after the refurbishing was "suspended indefinitely"
