NEW YORK CITY—In what's sure to be a new watermark for the Bronx, the historic BankNote Building has been sold for $114 million. ABN Associates LLC—comprised of affiliates of Taconic Investment Partners and Denham Wolf Real Estate Services—sold the asset to a joint venture between Madison Marquette and Perella Weinberg Partners Asset Based Value Strategy.
Located at 1201 Lafayette Ave. in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, the 400,000-square-foot property was formerly the home of the American BankNote Co., which printed US and foreign currency and securities at the site from 1911 until the 1980s. It was purchased by Taconic in 2007 and was 70% vacant at the time.
The landmarked, class A building is now 93% leased, having undergone an extensive, $58-million capital and tenant improvement plan. Recently, Taconic secured a 200,000-square-foot office lease for the Human Resources Administration and completed the build-out of the new space in just nine months.
“We're excited to have achieved our goal of creating a great office complex that acts as a hub of energy, creativity and job creation for the neighborhood and surrounding community,” says Charles Bendit, co-chief executive officer of Taconic. “The BankNote Building was a challenging project given the economic landscape of the past seven years and we're incredibly proud of its success.”
The new ownership is expected to retain the existing on-site management team to handle the day-to-day operations of the building. Other non-profit and business tenants at the building include BOCNET, Iridescent-ONR, the Hunts Point Alliance for Children, Urban Health Plan, JVL Charter School, Fedcap and the office of Rep. José Serrano.
"We are very excited that Madison Marquette's partnership with Perella Weinberg Partners continues to grow with the acquisition of the Bank Note Building,” says Amer Hammour, Chairman of Madison Marquette. “This deal extends our joint commitment to building value in emerging infill urban markets with substantial promise for the future."
He adds that the partnership is "excited at the opportunity of participating in and contributing to the rapidly emerging revival of the Bronx, with its extraordinary proximity to New York's urban core. The BankNote is ideally suited to join Madison Marquette's portfolio of platinum-level retail and mixed-use properties in major coastal gateway markets."
Adds David Schiff, partner at Perella Weinberg Partners and portfolio manager at Asset Based Value strategy, “We are excited to be acquiring the BankNote Building, an historically significant and renowned property. This acquisition is in line with our strategy of identifying and purchasing first-rate properties in high-density urban areas with topnotch tenants, and we look forward to being its next stewards in a community that continues to experience significant development.”
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
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.
