NEW YORK CITY-HH Realty Equities, a New York-based owner and developer purchased 246 Fifth Ave for $19 million on Auction.com. Reportedly featuring air rights of 24,601 square feet, the 32,049-square-foot office building was marketed by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank's capital markets team of senior managing directors David Noonan, Jennifer Schwartzman and managing director Paul Gojkovich.

A total of 281 investors signed confidentiality agreements to review the offering materials, reports auction.com. The auction had 12 registered bidders who each placed a $50,000 fully refundable deposit for the right to bid.

“Auction.com's web based platform is transparent, efficient and global which creates several advantages for both buyers and sellers,” says Pierre Bonan, VP of the website. “Our company has sold over $26 billion in properties across the nation since 2007. This transaction demonstrates that our process, which consistently works successfully in other markets, also works particularly well in the largest most dynamic real estate market in the country.”

The building came up for sale after slipping away from the previous owner through foreclosure, which transpired when the owner defaulted on a loan in a commercial mortgage-backed securities transaction. Its zoning allows for conversion to hotel or residential use. The vacant ground floor retail space, with 28 feet of frontage on Fifth avenue and 125 feet on 28th street, provides significant upside potential given the recent improvement in market fundamentals for retail space in this submarket.

The $19 million sale price represents a substantial recovery of the asset's peak value of $20 million, set in 2007 at the height of the market, NKGF reports. The property was 42% occupied at the time of the transaction.

“We are pleased with the pricing, and the volume of interest in this property,” Noonan says. “We were able to show potential investors how to unlock the value in this asset, which is in a tremendous location, but needs to be re-positioned.”

Built in 1920, the building is on the southwest corner of fifth avenue and west 28th street, putting it in the very in-demand submarket of Midtown South, as well as placing it north of Madison Square in the trendy neighborhood now known as “NoMad.” Commercial and retail activity in the vicinity includes several new upscale hotels, and the neighborhood is enjoying residential growth with nearly a quarter of a million residents living within a one-mile radius, fueling high-end residential condominium construction.

Instant Insights /

Midtown South Office Tower Sells for $19M On Auction.com

Related Stories

Recommended For You