TH Real Estate completes sale of 685 Third Avenue to Japanese investor

TH Real Estate has closed the sale of 685 Third Avenue, a 651,492 square-foot, office building with ground level retail in Midtown Manhattan to UNIZO Holdings Co.,  a listed real estate company based in Tokyo. The gross sale price was $467.5 million.

TH Real Estate acquired the 31-story office building as a value-add investment in July 2010 from Pfizer for $190 million. A 49.99 percent interest was sold to Future Fund, Australia’s sovereign wealth fund.

From 2011 through 2013, TH Real Estate executed a complete repositioning of the building which included renovations to the building’s lobby, an improved pocket park, and the addition of fast-casual dining such as Luke’s Lobster. Tenants include Sales Force, Tribune, and Crain’s. A recently executed lease for the corner retail unit by artisanal bakery Maison Kayser brought the overall occupancy level to 93 percent.

This is UNIZO’s sixth New York City purchase.

TH Real Estate is an affiliate of Nuveen, the investment management arm of TIAA.