2 Park Ave. for sale

Real Estate Weekly, May 21, 2003 by Natalie Keith

Vornado Realty Trust is reportedly putting 2 Park Ave. on the market, hoping the building will sell for as much as $300 million, according to published reports.

The 29-story building at East 32nd St. with approximately 965,000 SF will be marketed by Woody Heller of Insignia/ESG. The building is reportedly 99% leased with tenants such as the Manhattan news bureaus of Newsday and the Los Angeles Times, the law firm of Herrick Feinstein and the New York Community Trust, according to published reports.

According to the New York Post, seven tenants in the range of 50,000 to 100,000 SF are responsible for leasing two thirds of the building. Those leases are set to begin expiring in 2006. The property has a current average rent roll in the mid-$30's a SF.

Although the sales market has slowed considerably since last year, when several high-profile properties were sold at near record-high prices, brokers say investors may jump at the chance to acquire a well-leased property.

Neither Vornado nor Heller commented on the sale.

Vornado Realty Trust, which is headed by Steven Roth, is the city's biggest office property owner with 21 properties in Manhattan. The company is currently building the new 55-story, $650 million headquarters for Bloomberg LP at the former Alexander's site on Lexington Avenue and East 59th Street.