By Al Barbarino 3/08 2:08pm

Sales Beat

Yeshiva's main campus: 500 W 185th St

Yeshiva University Flips Two Buildings in Latest Sell-off

Yeshiva University’s selling spree continues with the announcement that ClearRock Properties and Juster Properties have purchased two of the school’s Midtown Manhattan office properties for $29 million and plan to redevelop them.

One is a 93,700-square-foot, 12-story block-through office building at 9 East 38th Street; and the other is a 7,400-square-foot commercial townhouse at 14 East 39th Street with 22,200 square feet of air rights.

ClearRock announced that it has launched a $10 milion capital improvement program to reposition the properties with the help of architectural firm Spector Group, which will create new lobbies and upgrade façade, storefront, elevators, tenant corridors, restrooms and windows.  A “high-end pre-built program” will be implemented and a roof deck is also being considered.

“The redevelopment will add substantial value to the property, and give companies wanting to be near Grand Central a polished, boutique option at reasonable pricing,” said ClearRock Properties Managing Principal Steve Grant, in a statement. Read More

By Al Barbarino 2/26 7:45am

Sales Beat

Entryway at 920 Broadway

Massey Knakal Arranges $87.5 M. Sale On Behalf of Yeshiva University

Massey Knakal has sold a portfolio of three office buildings on behalf of Yeshiva University for $87.5 million, The Commercial Observer has learned.

The 16-story, pre-war office building at 920 Broadway – in Midtown South’s Flatiron District – has roughly 110,000 rentable square feet and accounted for $58.5 million of the transaction.  It features 96 feet of footage on Broadway and 74 feet along East 21st Street and the corner building is zoned for office and residential development.

The 12-story block-through office building at 9 East 38th Street in the heart of Midtown has about 94,000 rentable square feet, with 47.5 feet of frontage along East 38th Street and 50 feet of frontage on East 39th Street.  A three story, 25-foot-wide adjunct building provides half of the frontage along 39th Street, with the two buildings netting the remaining $29 million of the transaction. Read More

By Al Barbarino 11/22/12 11:00am

Sales Beat

237-241 East 34th Street

Yeshiva University Lecture Hall Yields $15.5M Despite MTA Caveat

A former Yeshiva University lecture hall at 237-241 East 34th Street in Murray Hill has sold for $15.5 million, city records show.

A caveat in the potential for development at the site didn’t stop a series of potential buyers from lining up for a competitive bid to buy the property, said Massey Knakal’s John Ciraulo, who handled the sale along with Michael Azarian and Kobi Leifer.

Three developers courted the university, but a New York City-based firm with a long track record of building dormitory space ultimately prevailed, with plans to do the same at the Yeshiva site. Read More