NEW YORK CITY-It's official: American Realty Capital New York Recovery REIT has closed on its purchase of a 48.9% equity interest in Worldwide Plaza, for $220 million. The seller, WWP Sponsor—which is controlled by a joint venture consisting of George Comfort & Sons, RCG Longview, and DRA Advisors—retained the remaining 51.1% equity interest.
Located on eighth avenue, between 49th and 50th streets, Worldwide Plaza is a 49-story office building with about 1.8 million rentable square feet of office space, 30,000 square feet of retail space, a five-stage off-Broadway theater, a 38,000-square-foot foot fitness center and a garage providing 475 parking spaces. The asset is 91% leased to a number of large credit tenants, including Nomura Holding America and Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
Notes Michael Happel, CIO of ARC's NYRR, "Worldwide Plaza is located in the Midtown Manhattan office sub-market and features large credit tenants as well as potential additional leasing opportunities. This acquisition increased our portfolio value to over $2.1 billion, including other recently announced acquisitions."
In previous announcements, Happel noted, “Worldwide Plaza is a prime example of the type of high-quality Manhattan assets we have targeted for purchase, and is consistent with our strategy of buying good real estate with stable cash flows at prices below replacement cost.”
In addition, Happel said, the tower offers “an opportunity to increase cash flow through additional leasing opportunities while generating stable cash flow from its existing strong tenant base. We continue to see acquisition opportunities throughout Manhattan and its sister boroughs, and remain committed to making purchases consistent with our strategy.”
Combined with NYRR's existing portfolio and pending acquisitions, the Worldwide Plaza stake increases the REIT's holdings to 22 properties.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
