Crain's New York

The reported selling price for the Hines Interests office asset equates to about $640 per square foot. If that price tag is accurate, it represents "a positive sign for the market," commented Bob Knakal, chairman of Massey Knakal Realty Services, at a media briefing Tuesday morning. By contrast, when a partnership of Harbor Financial and locally based Capstone Equities bought the 1.1-million-square-foot 4 New York Plaza in January, the reported $107-million price equated to about $99 per square foot.

Knakal's assessment also encompassed the high investor interest currently surrounding two other Midtown office properties: Broadway Partners' 750,000-square-foot 340 Madison Ave. and Shorenstein Realty Services' 596,773-square-foot 125 Park Ave. Like 600 Lexington, the two assets are being marketed by the CB Richard Ellis investment sales team of vice chairmen Darcy Stacom and William Shanahan. A CBRE spokesman did not respond by deadline to requests for comment regarding the reported 600 Lexington deal.

Last week, SL Green said it was buying back approximately $115 million in senior notes under a cash tender offer. The REIT had sought to buy back as much as $250 million of its debt through the offer, originally announced on March 11.