Invesco Sells Mercedes House Stake to Empire Capital for $100M
Luxury apartments in top 11 floors of W. 54th tower are traded.
Empire Capital Holdings has agreed to acquire for $100M Invesco’s stake in a zig-zag residential tower at 550 West 54th Street, 162 luxury units on the top 11 floors, known as The Collection at Mercedes House.
Invesco bought The Collection from developer Two Trees Management for $170M in 2014.
The luxury units were part of the 974-unit apartment tower, with Two Trees’ initial planning to sell the luxury condos on the upper floors to individual buyers, before seizing the opportunity for a bulk sale to Invesco.
Cushman & Wakefield is representing Empire Capital, which is seeking acquisition financing for the transaction, which is expected to close in July.
The Collection is 98% occupied, with tenants paying an average of $92 per SF on leases signed after July.
Mercedes House is an homage to a Mercedes dealership at the base of the tower. The 144K SF Collection includes an indoor basketball court, indoor and outdoor pools, clubhouses lounges and access to the Mercedes Club, which features a gum, an outdoor move theater and a putting green.
Last month, Empire Capital closed on the $320M purchase of 1330 Sixth Avenue from RXR Realty and Blackstone. Empire partnered with Hakimian Capital, CH Capital Group, Creed Equities and Nassimi Realty in a transaction financed with a $215M loan from Deutsche Bank.
The 525K SF, 40-story Midtown tower—originally known as the Financial Times building—was purchased by Harry Macklowe in 2006 for $498M, but Macklowe coughed it up during the financial crisis in a foreclosure auction in which Otera Capital had the winning bid.
Otera sold the building to RXR in 2010 in a $400M deal. In 2015, Blackstone grabbed a stake as part of a deal for 50% ownership of six Manhattan office buildings.
Prior to the deal with the Empire Capital and its partners, Blackstone and RXR had put a $350M asking price for 1330 Sixth Avenue when they put the Class A building on the market during Q2 2022.
The acquisition of 1330 Sixth Avenue, builds on a portfolio that includes last year’s $107M acquisition with partner Igal Namdar of a century-old office building at 345 Seventh Avenue.