Witkoff Sells Two Office Condos at 420 Fifth Ave. Totaling $52.4M
In separate transactions, Ziff Brothers and Mediterranean Shipping Company purchased full floors at the Midtown East office tower.
NEW YORK CITY—Witkoff closed two deals on Thursday, selling two office condominiums at 420 Fifth Ave., totaling $52.4 million. Michael Rudder and Mike Heller of Rudder Property Group represented Witkoff brokering both sales in the skyscraper that’s near Bryant Park, between W. 37th and W. 38th streets.
Ziff Brothers Investments purchased the entire fifth floor, totaling 33,058 square feet for $27.3 million. The company, which currently leases offices at 350 Park Ave., will relocate its headquarters to the new space. CBRE’s Brian Gell represented Ziff Brothers Investments in the deal.
“After leasing several different spaces across the city, Ziff Brothers Investments recognized the long-term benefits of office ownership, including the ability to invest in its own custom build out,” says Rudder. “Tenants who lease are less apt to build out customized spaces when they don’t own. The purchase of a full floor at 420 Fifth will allow the company to create a truly unique space that reflects their brand and corporate identity.”
In the second transaction, Mediterranean Shipping Company purchased the entire fourth floor, also 33,058 square feet for $25.1 million. The shipping and logistics company currently owns 50,000 square feet across two floors in the building. The new space will be used for additional offices as the company continues to expand. Cushman & Wakefield’s Diego Rodinó di Miglione represented the buyer.
Rudder points out Mediterranean Shipping originally purchased the eighth floor at 420 Fifth Ave. in the early 1990s for approximately $180 per square foot and was one of the first buyers at the building alongside The Girl Scouts of America and The Rockefeller Foundation. “The company has benefitted from an astronomical appreciation of over 300% in that period of time and is confident it will continue to experience tremendous appreciation of value with the purchase of the additional floor,” he adds.
AM Property Holding Corporation and Quality Capital USA had acquired four floors of office condominiums in the building from The Girl Scouts of America. They sold all four floors, with Marist College, American Exchange Time and Luxottica buying into the building.
420 Fifth Avenue is a 30-story, 620,000-square-foot office tower built in 1991. It’s the only Class A office condominium building on Fifth Ave, according to Rudder Property Group.