Moinian to buy 1450 Broadway

Real Estate Alert, March 31, 2004

Investor Joseph Moinian has reached an agreement to buy an office/showroom building at 1450 Broadway in New York.

The buzz is that Moinian, perhaps as part of a partnership, will pay $121 million, or $300 a square foot, for the 402,000-sf building, located at the southeast corner of West 41st Street. As part of the deal, Moinian will assume responsibility for several million dollars of scheduled tenant improvements. Cushman & Wakefield is handling the sale.

The seller is a partnership between Murray Hill Properties and fund operator ING Realty Partners. It acquired the building in 2001 from Orix Real Estate Equities for $94.4 million, or $235/sf.

The 42-story building encompasses 382,000 sf of office/showroom space and 20,000 sf of retail space. The office space is 79% occupied, with asking rents of up to $44/sf: Tenants include Joe Boxer, Walt Disney Theatrical Productions, Nederlander Producing and Neiman Marcus. The retail/restaurant space is fully occupied, following the signing last summer of a 20-year lease for 8,000 sf by Cafe Duke.

The building, constructed in 1931, underwent upgrades last year to the lobby and corridors, facade and elevators.

The offering is part of a broader sales effort by Murray Hill, a local player headed by Norman Sturner. The company, also in partnership with ING Realty, has listed the 368,000-sf office building at 15 East 26th Street with CB Richard Ellis. The property, which faces Madison Square Park, could fetch $100 million.