Top 5 NYC Office Building Sales—February 2025
Sale Price: $140 million
David Werner Real Estate has completed the purchase of Pfizer’s former Midtown office headquarters by acquiring the remaining land underneath the office property at 235 E. 42nd St., previously known as Pfizer World Headquarters. The seller of the Turtle Bay asset was an entity related to the late real estate investor Bernard Kayden. Completed in 1960, the property totals 672,462 square feet and rises 33 stories.
With this deal, David Werner Real Estate fully owns the pair of assets formerly occupied by Pfizer, including the smaller adjacent property at 219 E. 42nd St. David Werner Real Estate was interested in the two-building office campus for some time. In 2018, the company purchased the leasehold for both properties from Pfizer, in a deal totaling $369.7 million, with the pharmaceutical giant planning to relocate as its lease was expiring.
Northwind Group originated a $135 million loan backed by the asset, meant to finance a residential makeover that will include about 910 units. David Werner Real Estate partnered with Metro Loft Management for the conversion of both properties.
Sale Price: $32 million
The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion acquired the historic landmark known as First Battery Armory from American Broadcasting Cos. The sale comes after ABC’s move from the building, that it occupied since 1979. The academic institution plans to relocate its New York campus to the property, with move-in scheduled to be completed until 2027, New York Post reported.
ABC’s former headquarters dates back to 1903 and totals 42,674 square feet. The property rises four stories, was last upgraded in 2010 and has 132,376 square feet of unused air rights. The institution plans to upgrade the building with new technology and infrastructure, additionally to new amenities.
Sale Price: $24 million
Chicago Pacific Founders acquired the 28,000-square-foot, two-building office property in the borough’s Morrisania neighborhood from a private seller. The buyer also secured a $19.5 million loan from Capital One. Vitalis brokered the deal.
The medical office buildings were completed in 1931 and last upgraded in 2014. The property is fully occupied by Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, along with Essen Health Care Diagnostic Imaging and an ambulatory surgery center, according to a press release from Healthcare Real Estate Insights.
Sale Price: $17 million
Greenmont Group picked up the single-story building encompassing 32,589 square feet from Kickstarter. The property is within the borough’s Greenpoint neighborhood, came online in 1931 and was last renovated in 2012. It previously traded in 2011, when Kickstarter paid $3.6 million for it. Situated within the Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory, the historic property was converted by Kickstarter into offices, with a green roof, gallery space and a library, among others.
The fundraising company used it as its new headquarters for a short period, until it implemented a fully remote policy due to the pandemic. The building has since been vacant and, after it changed ownership, will be fully occupied by media company The Lighthouse, that signed a 15-year lease, according to Commercial Observer. Both the leasing deal and the sale agreement were brokered by Newmark, according to the same source.
Sale Price: $12 million
Austin, Texas-based Arboretum Capital acquired the 8,531-square-foot building at 31 W. 54th St, and the 8,370-square-foot property at 33 W. 54th St. in Central Midtown, from a private seller. The five-story structures originally came online in 1920 and include a combined 3,200 square feet of retail space.
The building at 33 W. 54th St. was occupied by an Italian restaurant, while the one at 31 W. 54th was home to Spanish luxury shoe brand Manolo Blahnik until 2019, as well as to Sarah Jessica Parker’s show brand SJP until 2022, according to Craine’s New York Business.
—Posted on March 26, 2025
The post Top 5 NYC Office Building Sales—February 2025 appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.
