NEW YORK CITY—The American Bible Society has sold its headquarters building at 1865 Broadway for $300 million to AvalonBay Communities. The company plans to build a residential tower totaling over 300,000 square feet on the site, with a significant retail component at its base.
Avalon expects to start construction in late 2016. The company may in the future enter into a joint venture or forward sale arrangement with respect to the retail component of the project. 1865 Broadway is within two blocks of Columbus Circle, Lincoln Center and Central Park.
“The 1865 Broadway property has served us well for nearly 50 years. The decision to sell the property was made to unlock the value of the site to further the mission of American Bible Society,” says ABS board chairman, Nick Athens. “As we approach a third century of mission, we are laying the groundwork for the next 100 years of inviting people to experience the life-changing message of the Bible.”
A Cushman & Wakefield team led by Helen Hwang, Nat Rockett, Steve Kohn, Karen Wiedenmann and Brian Szczapa, represented American Bible Society in the transaction.
“We are extremely pleased to assist American Bible Society in a transaction that is so important to their mission,” says Hwang, a Cushman EVP. “Development sites with a significant footprint and meaningful scale almost never become available in Manhattan, let alone within a location with such a global presence. To complete a deal with AvalonBay just speaks volumes for the potential of this project.”
ABS recently announced plans for a new global headquarters in center city Philadelphia, merging staff from its current New York City and Valley Forge, Pennsylvania locations. A Cushman & Wakefield leasing team—led by Heather Sloan, Timothy Arizin and Edward Weiss—assisted American Bible Society in selecting its new ministry site. In addition to staff offices, the new location is slated to include a ground-floor Bible Discovery Center, on the doorstep of Independence Mall.
“American Bible Society has a remarkable Scripture collection of over 50,000 volumes in 2,500 languages,” says Heather Sloan, a Cushman associate director. “That collection will now be just steps from where the Declaration of Independence was signed, close to many other incredible museums and historical sites, continuing the transformation of Independence Mall in Philadelphia.”
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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.
