NEW YORK CITY—The Kaufman Organization and Principal Real Estate Investors have announced the joint venture acquisition of four former Ring buildings in the NoMad and Flatiron districts from Extell Development Company. The properties—which total 341,441 square feet—are located at 13-15 W. 27th St., 45 W. 27TH St., 19 W. 24th St. and 119-125 W. 24TH Street.
Fred Leffel, Grant Greenspan, and Michael Kazmierski of the Kaufman Organization and Kyle Elfersof Principal Real Estate Investors led the efforts in securing a 99-Year net lease for the properties; all of which are slated for extensive capital improvements. David Ash, principal, Prince Realty Advisors represented Kaufman and Principal. Thomas Kearnsof Olshan Frome and Wolosky served as their counsel.
Extell last fall agreed to buy 14 buildings from Frank Ring, president and founder of F.M. Ring Associates, in the culmination of a long-standing plan for the Ring portfolio to trade between the two companies. Earlier in 2013, Extell bought the interest of Frank's brother, Michael in the portfolio.
Located in the white-hot Midtown South sub-market, the buildings will be marketed to the tenant types that are seemingly flocking to the area: technology, media and marketing firms. Kaufman will rebrand the properties by launching an interactive website for the portfolio in conjunction with advertising and social media campaigns. It will deploy similar tactics to those it used in previous campaigns, including those for 100-104 Fifth Ave. and 27 West 24th St.
The joint venture's business plan is to renovate and rebrand the buildings over the next two years. The estimated investment is approximately $100-per-square-foot on tenant renovations and a capital improvement program that includes renovating the lobbies and retail frontage with a signature look, installing state-of-the-art elevators and upgrading infrastructure in order to turn the buildings into a mecca for tech and creative tenants.
“These buildings represent one of the rebrand the properties by launching an interactive website for the portfolio in conjunction with advertising and social media campaigns largest blocks of vacant space in what is perhaps the tightest office submarket market in the US,” says Fred Leffel. “The turnaround opportunity they represent perfectly complements our core competencies as a pro-active, value-add owner/operator of older Manhattan office stock.”
Notes Greenspan, “We are putting approximately 340,000 square feet of office space back into one of the tightest office markets of Midtown South. The Kaufman Organization has a track record of repositioning and renovating properties to make them attractive to high-growth industry tenants. “We look forward to combining Kaufman's extensive market knowledge with that of Principal Real Estate Investors in order to convert these buildings into vibrant,100% occupied structures.”
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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.
