Acadia Realty Buys 85 Fifth Avenue Retail Co-Op From SL Green for $47M

Acadia Realty Trust has acquired a retail co-op a block west of Union Square for $46.8 million, according to a source with knowledge of the deal and city records made public Thursday.

Acadia, through the entity 85 Fifth Ave Property Owner, bought all the shares in the approximately 13,000-square-foot retail property at the base of 85 Fifth Avenue from SL Green Realty, which used the entity 85 Fifth Avenue Retail Owner, records show.

CBRE’s Daniel Kaplan, Doug Middleton, Jack Stillwagon and Justin Arzi brokered the deal for SL Green, while no brokers represented Acadia.

CBRE declined to comment, while spokespeople for Acadia and SL Green did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The property on the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 16th Street, which SL Green bought in October 2020 for $59 million, was previously home to software company Piano, which signed a lease in 2021 spanning 12 years.

It’s unclear when Piano’s lease was terminated, but the space will now be entirely leased to coffee company Nespresso, which will be located at the property “long-term,” the source said.

News of the deal comes during a very busy year for Acadia, which has been picking up several retail properties across New York City.

In the fall, the real estate investment trust acquired four retail buildings along North Sixth Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for a total of $53.9 million, as Commercial Observer previously reported.

Also in the fall, Acadia purchased five retail properties in the West Village along Bleecker and Perry streets for approximately $20.25 million, CO reported.

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