IN-DEPTH: RXR buys 61 Broadway for $351m
RXR Realty has bought 61 Broadway from Broad Street Development and Heyman Properties. Here’s an in-depth look at the deal.
THE DEAL
JLL represented the seller. The sales price is rumored to be approximately $351 million, or $538 per square foot. The new owner bought the property for investment purposes. The deal marks RXR Realty’s entry into lower Manhattan.
THE ASSET
The 33-story, 787,000-square-foot office tower is on the corner of Exchange Place. It was built in 1916.
To date, 61 Broadway is 94 percent occupied. Major tenants include American Lung Association, Pax Clearing Corp., Ingalls & Snyder, Travelers Insurance, and Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations.
Located in the Financial District of lower Manhattan, 61 Broadway was designed by architect Francis Kimball and reflects a Chicago style. It features a light stone exterior with defined base, shaft and cornice.
61 Broadway was also known as Adams Express. It was the headquarters for Alvin Adams’ business, Adams Express Building Co., one the first companies to act as a carrier for express shipments by rail in the United States. Adams provided shippers with a complete shipping solution, picking up goods at the shipper's location, carrying them to the railroad terminal and delivering them from the distant railroad terminal to the recipient's door.
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. paid $90 million for the building in 1988. The firm spent $20 million on renovations as well as new mechanical systems and a state-of-the-art fire suppression system. It was renovated again in 2002.
Crown Properties purchased the building for $58 million in 1998. Then the Broad Street joint venture paid $130 million for the property in 2004.
THE MARKET
The Manhattan office sector has shown consistent transaction activity since first quarter 2011. The highest transaction activity occurred during fourth quarter 2013, according to data by Real Capital Analytics. Approximately 65 transactions were completed during the fourth quarter totaling $8.66 billion in sales price. In 2013, approximately $20.95 billion in Manhattan office properties exchanged hands, totaling 181 transactions. Thus far in 2014, 55 transactions have been announced in the sector for a total of $8.5 billion.
RXR has been the most active recent buyer in the Manhattan office sector, according to RCA. The firm has recently purchased six properties, including 61 Broadway, for a total investment of $2.8 billion. Other assets are Park Avenue Artium, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, 620 Sixth Ave., 450 Lexington Ave., and 1166 Sixth Ave.
THE PLAYERS
RXR Realty is a private real estate company with expertise in investment management, property management, development, design, construction, leasing and financing. The firm is a large owner, manager and developer in the New York City tri-state area with interests in approximately $6.5 billion of assets as of Dec. 23, 2013.
Broad Street Development is a real estate developer. It was formed by an investor group led by Raymond Chalmé and equity partner Heyman Properties.
