A prominent Manhattan office property that opened during the pandemic and reflected the optimism of building in tough economic times has been sold at a discount.
Savanna, a New York-based real estate investment firm and developer, said Tuesday it bought 799 Broadway, a 12-story, 176,588-square-foot, top-tier office building just south of Union Square in the Greenwich Village neighborhood. Columbia Property Trust and Cannon Hill Capital Partners sold the “distressed” property at a deeply discounted price of $255 million through a lender-controlled sale process administered by Blackstone, Savanna said in a statement.
A spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a CoStar News request seeking details, including how much the building previously was sold for.
The deal comes as a slew of other high-profile office properties in New York and elsewhere have seen sharply lower appraised values or sale prices amid the fallout of the pandemic. Manhattan’s iconic Helmsley Building above Grand Central Terminal, for instance, is said to have suffered a nearly 40% decline in value in just three years.
Columbia Property Trust is now part of investment management giant Pacific Investment Management Co., or Pimco, after a $3.9 billion sale announced in 2021.
799 Broadway, completed in 2022 and designed by Perkins & Will, is 71% leased with an 11-year weighted average lease term for current tenants, Savanna said.
The property, by 11th Street, features 15-foot ceiling heights as well as floor-to-ceiling glass with "abundant" light throughout, Savanna said, adding that most floors offer private terraces for tenants. The building also has other amenities such as a luxury gym and a tenant lounge.
“The newly built property is ideally positioned in the heart of Greenwich Village neighborhood, allowing tenants to benefit from a great location with a vibrant culture as well as a modern office space that emphasizes wellness,” Kerry Powers, managing director with Savanna, said in the statement. “This building is also representative of the opportunities Savanna continues to pursue, acquiring some of the very best real estate in New York City at extraordinarily discounted prices given the current turbulence in the market.”
The ground-up property counts among its tenants Wellington Management, which has a footprint spanning about 71,000 square feet of office space.
For the record
Both Savanna and the seller were represented in the deal by an Eastdil Secured team led by Gary Phillips and Will Silverman.