Citigroup Building Sold for Half-a-Billion

Daniel Edward Rosen — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:58:02 -0400

The Citigroup Building at One Court Square in Long Island City sold for a reported $500 million today.

Citigroup Building (photo courtesy of CoStar)

A preferred equity investment that was arranged by Cushman & Wakefield was provided by a group headed by the Paramount Group, Inc.

The 1.5 million square foot Class A office tower was sold by real estate investment trust SL Green Realty and investment bank JPMorgan to a group led by Brooklyn-based real estate investor David Werner, The New York Post reported.

Mr. Werner purchased the upper portion--floors 29 through 54--of the Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway for a reported $70 million earlier this summer.

The Citigroup building was built in 1989 and designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

The building's sale was handled by Eastdil Secured brokers Douglas Harmon and Adam Spies.

In a statement, Cushman & Wakefield's Steve Kohn said the "strategically located asset is of exceptional quality."

"[T]he investment features a bond-like income stream, along with a going-in basis well below replacement cost," Helen Hwang, also of Cushman & Wakefield, added.

drosen@observer.com

The Commercial Observer » Citigroup Building Sold for Half-a-Billion

Citigroup Building Sold for Half-a-Billion