Clarion Pays $230M for Midtown South Trophy

NEW YORK CITY-Confirming earlier reports, Clarion Partners said Tuesday afternoon it has bought 100-104 Fifth Ave. from the Kaufman Organization and Invesco Real Estate for $230 million. Kaufman has been retained as leasing and managing agent for the 277,412-square-foot Midtown South office property.

“100 Fifth is one of the top institutional-quality assets in the Midtown South submarket,” Gary Rufrano, a director at Clarion Partners, says in a release. “The class A vacancy rate in the area is just 3.2%, and with limited potential for new competition, we are very pleased with this addition to our portfolio.”

Kaufman Organization and Invesco purchased the building in December 2010 for $93.5 million. The new owners repositioned the property, and Kaufman was put in charge of attracting the creative and new media tenants that have helped make Midtown South the nation's tightest office submarket. Currently it's 100% leased.

In the release, Kaufman's Fred Leffel, president of the company's Kaufman New Ventures arm, says the partnership that owned 100-104 Fifth “decided that this was the right time to sell” and hired Studley to market it. “The interest in Midtown South properties among institutional investors has grown exponentially over the last several years,” says Woody Heller, group head of Studley's capital transactions group, in the release. “This is entirely justified by the appeal of the area and spaces to many of the city's fastest-growing tenants.”