NEW YORK CITY—Columbia Property Trust has completed its acquisition of a 12-story, 119,000 square-foot office building in Midtown South, for $87.7 million. The seller of the property at 149 Madison Ave. was the Schwalbe family, according to Real Capital Analytics.
GlobeSt.com reported in March 2017 that an agreement was reached to purchase a fee simple interest in the property, upon the expiration of a ground lease in January 2018. When the building is fully vacated, Columbia will begin modernizing its infrastructure, upgrading the interior, exterior and common areas. The company intends to reposition the property as a modern boutique office that preserves the architecture of its original 1916 construction.
Eastdil Secured and Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller. Industry sources say there was no buyer's broker for this transaction. Columbia has hired the Gensler architecture firm, Highland Associates as engineers, and Redgate as project managers. Newmark Knight Frank will lead the leasing efforts.
Nelson Mills, president and CEO of Columbia, notes the building complements the REIT's Manhattan portfolio. “We have enjoyed a tremendous amount of success with our similar small floor plate, boutique buildings in Midtown South,” says Mills. He adds the location benefits from being in a thriving submarket. In the NoMAD district, the building sits on the southeast corner of 32nd Street and Madison Avenue.
With this acquisition, Columbia owns eight New York City office properties, representing 45% of its national office portfolio. In 2017, it acquired four Midtown South properties totaling over 900,000 square feet. Prior 2017 acquisitions include buildings at 245-249 West 27th St. and 218 W. 18th St. in Chelsea, and a joint interest in 114 Fifth Ave. in the Flatiron District.
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Betsy Kim
Betsy Kim was the bureau chief, East Coast, and New York City reporter for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. As a lawyer and journalist, Betsy has worked as the director of editorial and content for LexisNexis Lawyers.com, a TV/multi-media journalist for NBC and CBS affiliated TV stations in the Midwest, and an associate producer at Court TV.
