Online Auctioneer Worthy Takes 12K SF at 25 West 45th Street
By Abigail Nehring February 7, 2024 1:27 pm
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Boutique office developer AFP Properties and a fine jewelry seller signed a precious deal.
Online jewelry auctioneer Worthy inked a four-year lease for 11,588 square feet at AFP Properties’ 25 West 45th Street, Crain’s New York Business reported.
A spokesperson for AFP did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the asking rent was unclear. Average asking rent for Midtown office space was $80.86 per square foot in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to a report by Transwestern.
Founded in 2011, Worthy is an online marketplace for fine jewelry. It auctions diamonds, watches and other valuable pieces, which are appraised by a team of gemologists before being offered for sale, according to its website.
Worthy has a “remote-first” work policy, according to its BuiltInNYC profile. The company currently lists its address as 45 West 45th Street, which is just two doors down from its new digs.
The deal is good news for AFP, which may be in hot water if it can’t pay the remaining $64.6 million it owes for a $70 million loan it took out on the 192,000-square-foot building. Moody’s flagged the debt in a ratings action last year, citing a decline in occupancy from 95 percent leased to 82 percent as part of the reason. The loan moved into special servicing in December, Commercial Real Estate Direct reported.
Cushman & Wakefield (CWK)’s Sean Hoffman arranged the deal for Worthy while AFP was represented by Avison Young’s John Ryan and Joshua Goldman.
Hoffman declined to comment, and Ryan and Goldman did not respond to requests for comment.
Abigail Nehring can be reached at anehring@commercialobserver.com.
