SL Green Realty Corp. has entered into a contract to sell 220 East 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan for total consideration of $815 million, or approximately $715 per square foot. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.
Located on the corner of 42nd Street and Second Avenue, 220 East 42nd Street, also known as The News Building, is a 37-story art deco skyscraper that was originally the headquarters for The New York Daily News.
SL Green purchased the property in February 2003 for $265 million, following its initial $53.5 million preferred equity investment in September 2001. The company then commenced a multi-year repositioning and retenanting of the property. Currently boasting occupancy of 97 percent and the highest net operating income since SL Green’s acquisition, the building’s tenant roster includes the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, Omnicom Group, local television station WPIX and the United Nations.
SL Green’s co-CIO, Isaac Zion, commented, “The sale of the historic News Building demonstrates the continued demand, both international and domestic, for large, fully-stabilized assets in East Midtown, Manhattan’s pre-eminent business district. This sale also furthers our strategy of selling assets into a healthy investment market and using the proceeds from these sales to repurchase deeply discounted shares of our stock while maintaining a low-leverage profile.”
