Normandy Puts 575 Lex on Market With Asking Price of $650M+
The 35-story property, located between East 51st and 52nd Streets, is being marketed by a Cushman & Wakefield team
By Cathy Cunningham and Sarika Gangar January 8, 2020 11:44 am
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A joint venture between Normandy Real Estate Partners, Angelo Gordon & Co. and George Comfort & Sons has put its office tower at 575 Lexington Avenue in Midtown on the market, Commercial Observer has learned. The seller is seeking a price north of $650 million, a source familiar with the sale said.
The 35-story property, located between East 51st and 52nd Streets, is being marketed by Cushman & Wakefield‘s Doug Harmon and Adam Spies, along with Adam Doneger, Kevin Donner, Josh King and Marcella Fasulo, according to the source.
A C&W spokesperson declined to comment.
The firm has already kicked off property tours of the 745,500 square-foot space, the source said. The property, which counts Weill Cornell Medical College, WeWork, and the New York Sports Club among its tenants, is located within the boundaries of the Midtown East rezoning.
Normandy acquired the 1950s-era property, alongside investor New York Life Insurance Company, for $360 million in October 2012, according to data from CoStar Group. The pair picked up the building from a Silverstein Properties and CalSTRS joint venture, helping to resolve a distressed commercial mortgage-backed securities situation.
A recap in August 2015 saw the exit of New York Life and the entrance of Angelo Gordon and George Comfort & Sons, with the deal valuing the property at $510 million, CoStar data shows.
Improvements to the LEED Gold-certified building have included including a new HVAC system, lobby, generators, life-safety systems, and a new building management system, according to Normandy’s website. The investors completed about $50 million in improvements, the source said.
The owners signed WeWork to a 117,000 square-foot space, which spans five floors, in October 2018, as CO reported. The deal included a 14th floor space that the owners had previously planned to convert into a shared amenity floor, according to The Real Deal. The WeWork users, which are part of its enterprise platform, have a private elevator bank, the source said.
The offering follows the announced sale in October of another high profile Midtown office property, the News Building at 220 East 42nd Street, for $815 million, as CO reported. Jacob Chetrit is picking up the 37-story tower from seller SL Green Realty Corp., with the deal expected to close early this year.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include the asking price.
