Office Building at 9 Times Square Sells for $98M Less Than 2014 Price

The 172,000-square-foot office building at 9 Times Square has sold for $63.5 million to the Chehebar family at a massive discount, Commercial Observer has learned.

Brothers Elliot and Ike Chehebar, who own the Jackson Group, purchased the property blocks away from Times Square from American Strategic Investment Company (ASIC), with the deal closing Wednesday, according to Global Advisory’s Ross Mezzo, who brokered the sale for both sides.

“The sale of 9 Times Square not only demonstrates the commitment to the New York City office market, but also reinforces its overall thesis that it’s the greatest city globally,” Mezzo said in a statement to CO.

Spokespeople for ASIC and The Jackson Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

ASIC, which bought the building on the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 41st Street in November 2014 for $162.3 million, announced the property was under contract in June, according to The Real Deal.

The deal was part of ASIC’s efforts to diversify into “higher-yielding investments in assets beyond Manhattan real estate,” the company said in an investor presentation, according to TRD. And ASIC told TRD that, despite the nearly $98 million loss the sale price represents, the deal would still net the company $13.5 million.

Tenants of 9 Times Square include I Love NY Gifts, which signed a 15-year lease for nearly 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space for its flagship store in 2018. Acoustical consultant Longman Lindsey also is a tenant.

The purchase is the second discounted deal the Chehebar brothers scored this month in New York City. 

Earlier in December, the Jackson Group, along with United American Land and Crown Acquisitions, purchased the Macy’s store in Downtown Brooklyn at 422 Fulton Street for $23 million, as CO previously reported.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.