It’s among the world’s smallest countries, but that didn’t stop Equatorial Guinea from scooping up prime office condo space near the United Nation for $3.63 million. Indeed, the African nation of 676,000 people inked a deal last week for 8,067 square feet at 800 Second Avenue, a building already occupied by the consulates of Israel and Ecuador, among other countries.
Equatorial Guinea plans to combine two suites on the third floor previously owned by the American Payroll Association. The country, which is oil-rich and human rights-poor, had initially leased one of the suites for a 14-month period while it built out space at a midtown office building it owns. But, brokers say, consulate officials liked the lobby, tenancy and other amenities at the Second Avenue building so much that they chose to purchase there instead.
“They liked the natural light and all the windows,” said Dan Kaplan of CBRE, who represented the American Payroll Association alongside colleagues Tim Sheehan, Eric Yarbro and Ned Midgley. “It’s on the third floor, but it’s surprisingly quiet.” Added Mr. Sheehan: “We had a competing offer for the entire floor from an investor, but the pricing was better on this deal.” (There are, incidentally, 11,000 more square feet available on the same floor.)
PamCaba International Realty represented Equatorial Guinea, which had been leasing to a law firm and a division of the Red Cross.
jsederstrom@observer.com
Excuse me, how is it that you don’t seem to be targeting countries like Mexico which is also oil rich and people aid poor. Again I say, there seems to be a need to tell others’ how to build a nation. As a young adult of the 60′s we all marched together for the cause, but oddly enough those who looked the dirtiest and protested the hardest never fell to the bottom of the ladder; mummy and daddy picked them up, cleaned them up, and sent them off to ivy league graduate schools so that they could join the power elite and have access to privilege and money that dictates what other’s will do. Who are you listening to anyway? Oddly enough, as recent as the late 90′s EG invited professors to their tiny country to help design an education system. The report back was not about a new vision and mission for education in EG. It was about how the country didn’t have a decent hotel with quality air-conditioning and electricity and, and, and…..restaurants, etc. Now that they have build a world class hotel in hopes that people of knowledge and influence will come to EG and offer intellectual capital, people complain. Who are you kidding? I suppose the recent overthrow attempt by was because they cared about the people of EG, I doubt it! What country can you name that treats all of its people well simultaneously. Excuse me, EG has been at growing the country with cash for only 15 years, there are countries who have had 300 years and still haven’t got it right. Back off!