Barings in Contract to Buy 1370 Avenue of the Americas for Roughly $160M
By Cathy Cunningham and Nicholas Rizzi February 26, 2024 1:35 pm
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Barings is throwing down some serious cash to pick up 1370 Avenue of the Americas, Commercial Observer has learned.
The investment manager just went into contract with Principal Real Estate Investors to buy the 34-story office tower between West 56th and West 57th streets for between $150 to $160 million, or about $450 to $470 per square foot, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.
The 350,000-square-foot property has been marketed for sale by Newmark since November. The source said the building received a number of bids but ultimately Barings — which is also the lender on the building — won out because it was the best-positioned buyer.
The exact purchase price couldn’t be ascertained, but Barings’ bid cleared the more than $150 million in existing debt on the property, set to mature in October, sources said.
The sale is set to close within 30 to 60 days.
A spokesperson for Barings did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Principal declined to comment.
Newmark’s Adam Spies, Doug Harmon, Josh King, Adam Doneger and Marcella Fasulo brokered the sale, sources said. The Newmark brokers also declined to comment.
The sale is a bit of déjà vu for Harmon and Spies as they brokered Principal’s 2005 purchase of the property while they were working at Eastdil Secured.
Principal— which is the real estate arm of Principal Global Investors — bought the property, which overlooks Central Park, from Normandy Real Estate Partners and The Landis Group for $217 million in 2005, Crain’s New York Business reported.
At the time of Principal’s purchase, the property was largely vacant but the investor repositioned the property and today it’s 82 percent leased, the source said. Current tenants include financial service firm Eliant Trade Finance and shoe seller Vince Camuto.
And the property’s current vacancy might not pose a huge problem for a new owner. Avenue of the Americas bucked the trend of the weak leasing market with a number of high-profile and massive leases closing in 2023.
Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com. Nicholas Rizzi can be reached at nrizzi@commercialobserver.com.
