Paramount recaps Plaza tower

Real Estate Weekly, Nov 26, 2008

Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman has arranged a joint venture between Paramount Group, Inc. and a corporate pension trust advised by JP Morgan Asset Management to recapitalize 31 West 52nd St., a 776,849 s/f trophy office and retail property, located in the Plaza District.

Located on West 52nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas, 31 West 52nd Street was designed by Pritzker Award-winning architect Kevin Roche of Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates. Clifford Chance, the world's largest law firm, and several financial services companies with trading operations occupy the property.

"We were thrilled to acquire 31 West 52nd Street in December, and our enthusiasm for the property has increased in the ensuing months by also acquiring the retail condominium of the property," said Albert Behler, president and CEO of Paramount.

According to Steve Kohn, president of Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman, Paramount's advisor in the recapitalization, "31 West 52nd Street is a gem, now owned by one of the premier owner/operators in New York, in partnership with one of the country's most savvy pension fund advisors and pension funds."

Alex Hernandez, senior director of Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman, states, "The quality of the tenancy and the building itself, together with the property's superior location among the most coveted office addresses in the world, were of great appeal to the investors."