SL Green Announces Plaza District and Herald Square Deals

SL Green is selling its interest at 635 Madison Ave. and acquiring a leasehold interest at 2 Herald Square.

SL Green acquires leasehold interest at 2 Herald Square.

NEW YORK CITY–SL Green Realty Corp. is selling the fee interest at 635 Madison Ave. for $151 million. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. SL Green purchased the fee interest in 2014 for $145 million. Although the real estate company declined to provide additional information, The Real Deal reported the buyer as iStar.

Adam Spies and Doug Harmon of Cushman & Wakefield represented SL Green.

Real Capital Analytics notes that BlackRock Realty in a joint venture with L&L Holding sold the property to SL Green. The 19-story building at 635 Madison Ave. stands between E. 59th and E. 60th streets in Manhattan’s Plaza District.

SL Green also gives its regards to Broadway in announcing it acquired a leasehold interest at 2 Herald Square. The real estate firm made a successful bid at the asset’s foreclosure. SL Green formed a joint venture on the asset with an Israeli-based institutional investor, subsequent to closing on the acquisition.

The 11-story structure is located at the intersection of Sixth Avenue, Broadway and 34th Street. The 369,000 square-foot office and retail building has tenants including WeWork, Amazon, Victoria’s Secret and Mercy College. SL Green notes the foot traffic along the 34th Street corridor exceeds 100 million people per year. 

SL Green declined to provide additional details regarding the deal. However, in October 2017, The Real Deal had reported when the property was on the verge of foreclosing, a judge approved the preferred equity owner the Paramount Group’s plans to bid on the leasehold. The article noted Sitt Asset Management owned the leasehold.

The publication reported SL Green bought the building’s defaulted $250 million mortgage in May and was expect to start foreclosure proceedings if Paramount did not close the deal in the fall of 2017. The Real Deal also stated 59,000 square feet of retail space in 2 Herald Square had remained vacant for more than a year and a half.