Sub Markets

Property Sectors

Topics

New York & Tri-State CRE News In Your Inbox.

Sign up for Connect emails to stay informed with CRE stories that are 150 words or less.

New York & Tri-State  + Midtown New York  + Distressed Assets  | 

Midtown Manhattan Office Duo Trades at Steep Discount in Short Sale

A pair of century-old Midtown Manhattan office buildings are trading at a steep discount as lenders look to cut their losses, Bloomberg News reported. Empire Capital Holdings agreed to buy the properties at 229 W. 36th St. and 256 W. 38th St. for less than $50 million, or at least 68% below the roughly $157 million the buildings last sold for in 2017. 

The deal was a short sale for lender Investcorp, according to Bloomberg. Short sales have become more common as office values have plummeted, often below loan amounts. Last year, Empire Capital and a partner purchased a West 44th Street office building in a short sale.

Bloomberg reported that CBRE’s Doug Middleton and Jack Stillwagon are handling the sale. The buyer is considering either keeping the sites as offices or turning them into storage properties for now, a source told Bloomberg. Both properties also sit within a rezoning district.

Connect

Inside The Story

Investcorp

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).