NEW YORK CITY- Gaedeke Group, a privately owned commercial real estate investment firm, has acquired 44 Wall St. advised by George Comfort & Sons, Inc., a real estate investment management firm, for $200 million. The property located between the intersection of Wall and William streets in Downtown Manhattan, totals 350,000 square feet. George Comfort is set to become the operator.

In addition, Finback Real Estate, a New York-based advisory firm servicing institutional investors and owners of private real estate assets, had assisted Gaedeke Group on the acquisition.

Built in 1927, 44 Wall St. stands 24-stories tall and is amid the ongoing transformation of Downtown Manhattan into a technology and creative hub. The property underwent enhancements in 2016, which included a lobby renovation. Approximately $24 million went to the building's renovation to modernize the structure, which at the time of execution was 80 percent occupied and today is 84 percent occupied.

"44 Wall Street represents the best of New York City commercial real estate," said George Comfort President and CEO Peter S. Duncan, said in a prepared statement. "This transaction serves as a great entrée into the local market by a respected company, Gaedeke Group, and we are looking forward to working closely with them."

Prior to this transaction, the Dallas-based firm Gaedeke had a portfolio that totaled approximately 3 million square feet of Class A office space in markets that include New York, Arizona,Texas, Florida and Washington, D.C.

According to a recent GlobeStreet.com article, new asking rents for tenants in Downtown Manhattan are in the $60 per square foot range, which is average for Class A office in the FiDi submarket, Marisha Clinton, senior director of research at Avison Young, tells GlobeSt.com.

Overall, the Downtown Manhattan submarket has become a live and work market with the introduction of different amenity mixes at the World Trade Center and One Brookfield Place. Leasing has been robust with Class A asking rents ranging from 65 per square foot, specifically in the World Trade Center and Tribeca submarkets, according to Avison Young data.

Top performers for leasing in the area were 101Greenwich St., averaging rents of $72 per square foot, and 180 Maiden Lane and 28 Liberty Street with average rents of $70 per square foot.

"The office market is tightening up down there," James Nelson, principal and head of tri-state investment sales at Avison Young who is not involved in the transaction, tells GlobeSt.com. "A lot of the activity is because the market has become much more of a 24/7 area, and people can live and work there."

Instant Insights /

Gaedeke Group Acquires 44 Wall Street For $200M

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