The Spanish bank Santander is marketing 45 East 53rd Street in what will likely be a sale leaseback deal.
An investment sales broker familiar with the building said that it could trade for as much as $100 million or more.
The building is about 113,000 square feet and is fully occupied by Santander, which uses the space for its New York operations. Marcos DeSillas, a facilities manager who oversees the property for Santader told The Commercial Observer that the property’s sale is being handled by executives at the bank’s headquarters in Spain.
“It’s all being done from Spain,” Mr. DeSillas said, stating that he couldn’t comment on the building beyond that.
Calls to Santander’s European media relations staff were not returned by press time.
According to investment sales brokers, Santander is apparently handling the property’s marketing in house rather than through a sales brokerage, a somewhat unusual approach for a large institutional seller, which typically tap large services firms like CBRE, Jones Lang LaSalle, Eastdil or Cushman & Wakefield to oversee asset sales. The bank plans to continue occupying the property, so any sales deal would be structured to include a long term lease.
Santander is one of the biggest financial insitutions in the world and the largest in the Eurozone. In the U.S. it is better known for its retail banking subsidiary Sovereign Bank.
45 East 53rd Street is a modern glass and stone building that abuts the Park Avenue landmark skyscraper Lever House. RFR Properties, which owns Lever House, is considered a leading candidate to acquire the neighboring building.
“Aby would like to control the real estate next door,” said a knowledgeable real estate executive, referring to Aby Rosen, RFR’s chief executive.
Sources also said that W. P. Carey & Co., a company that specializes in sale-leaseback acquisitions, is also looking at the building as are a number of other large real estate owners.
