After the pandemic, valuations of some offices in Manhattan took a beating. Still, that's leaving an opportunity for buyers, with David Werner now scooping up 311 West 43rd Street in Hell's Kitchen for just over $40 million.
That would imply about a $90 million discount or roughly a third of what DivcoWest spent to acquire the building in 2018. The news of the Werner buy was reported by The Real Deal.
CBRE brokered the transaction.
The property, also known as The Press Building, spans 193,000 square feet and was last renovated in 2016. The asset offers 13-foot slab-to-slab ceiling heights and industrial loft space. Nearby are the Port Authority and Penn Station.
It's unclear what the plans are for The Press Building — but Werner is notably working on one of the largest office-to-residential conversions in the city through his firm, David Werner Real Estate Investments. The plans with partner MetroLoft call to transform Pfizer's former headquarters at 219 and 235 East 42nd Street into 1,602 luxury apartments. The two secured a $720 million loan in May 2025 to support the project, with completion aimed for by the end of 2027.
According to data from PincusCo, David Werner Real Estate manages a $1.3 billion portfolio in New York City, with 69 percent concentrated in office.
Overall, leasing in Manhattan remains strong, with JLL reporting that activity was nine million square feet in the first quarter. That's slightly below the 9.1 million square feet posted in the same period last year. Also, vacancy dropped by 220 basis points to 13.5 percent.
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