RXR Said to Take Worldwide Plaza Stake

NEW YORK CITY-RXR Realty, which earlier this year expanded its already considerable Manhattan presence, may be on the verge of doing so yet again. The Uniondale, NY-based owner/developer has agreed to buy a 49% interest in Worldwide Plaza at 825 Eighth Ave. for about $660 million, Bloomberg reported late Wednesday afternoon.

Bloomberg's report followed an earlier one by Real Estate Alert, which broke the story. If the reports are accurate, the 49% stake in the 1.8-million-square-foot office tower would be worth more than its current ownership paid for the entire property in July 2009.

A partnership including George Comfort & Sons, RCG Longview and the Feil Organization paid $590 million to acquire it from lender Deutsche bank, which took back the keys in late 2008 from Macklowe Holdings. Macklowe, in turn, had paid $1.74 billion in early 2007 to acquire the tower as part of the Equity Office Properites portfolio.

Bloomberg reported that the agreement affords RXR the option of acquiring the remaining 51% stake in the future. A spokesman for RXR tells GlobeSt.com the firm has no comment on the published reports.

Since the Comfort-led partnership acquired Worldwide Plaza, its occupancy profile has improved considerably. In 2011, Nomura Holdings took out a lease for 900,000 square feet, relocating from the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan.

Already in 2013, RXR has added two Midtown trophies to its Manhattan office portfolio. In January, the company took out a 99-year triple-neat lease on 75 Rockefeller Plaza. The following month, RXR and Walton Street Capital acquired 237 Park Ave. for a price that's just north of $800 million.