SL Green Buys Manhattan Tower From Blackstone in $730M Deal
This property previously traded in 2014 for $750 million.
SL Green is betting demand for high-quality office assets in New York City will continue to strengthen. Manhattan’s largest office landlord is under contract to acquire Park Avenue Tower, a 36-story trophy building, from Blackstone for $730 million.
The transaction, expected to close in early 2026, is one of the biggest office deals this year. Gary Phillips and Will Silverman of Eastdil Secured represented the seller.
The tower previously changed hands in August 2014, when EQ Office, the Blackstone subsidiary now known as Perform Properties, acquired it from Shorenstein for $750 million, according to Yardi Matrix data. In March 2024, the property was refinanced with a $308.5 million, two-year CMBS loan originated by Morgan Stanley, the same source shows.
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Occupying the block between 55th and 56th streets, the 621,824-square-foot Park Avenue Tower was completed in 1986 at 65 E. 55th St. The first floor of the LEED Gold-certified property has 11,475 square feet of retail space.
The Blackstone subsidiary has invested at least $25 million in upgrades to the building in recent years although The Real Deal put the enhancements at $170 million. Improvements included a lobby renovation and an amenity space designed by Gonzalez Architects, high-end prebuilt office suites by Gensler and a reimagined plaza by MdeAS Architects. On-site amenities include a fitness center.
SL Green CIO Harrison Sitomer said in prepared remarks the strategically located building is well-leased at below-market rents, offering upside as vacancy in the Park Avenue corridor is trending below 6 percent.
Perform Properties signed a lease in August for 17,458 square feet with Reinsurance Group of America for its first New York office, the Commercial Observer reported. Other current tenants include PineBridge Investments, BTIG, Raine Group, TowerBrook Capital Partners, National Bank Financial Markets, Eagle Capital Management, Cyrus Capital Partners and Creative Artists Agency.
Part of growing portfolio
The tower will become part of SL Green’s Park Avenue portfolio that includes One Vanderbilt Avenue, 500 Park Ave., 450 Park Ave., 280 Park Ave., 245 Park Ave., 125 Park Ave. and 100 Park Ave. As of Sept. 30, the REIT held interests in 53 buildings totaling 30.7 million square feet including ownership interests in 27.1 million square feet of Manhattan buildings and 2.7 million square feet securing debt and private equity investments.
SL Green also closed on the sale of an additional 5 percent interest in One Vanderbilt Avenue to Mori Building Co. Ltd., in a deal that values the 1.7 million-square-foot skyscraper at $4.7 billion. Mori acquired an 11 percent stake last year at the same valuation. SL Green still owns 55 percent interest in the property.
Other recent SL Green activity includes the purchase of 346 Madison Ave. and an adjacent building at 11 E. 44th St. for $160 million from Catalyst Brands. The REIT may use the sites to build a ground-up office development.
Also last month, SL Green and joint venture partner PGIM Real Estate closed on the $1.4 billion refinancing of 11 Madison Ave. The 2.3 million-square-foot office building is in Manhattan’s Flatiron District.
Active Manhattan office market
SL Green’s purchase of Park Avenue Tower comes as investors seek more opportunities for premier property discounts in the Manhattan office market, which has become active on both the sales and leasing fronts this year.
During the first half of 2025, investors acquired $3.5 billion of Manhattan office assets, compared to $2.3 billion in the first six months of 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported. They are finding lower prices on high-quality assets too. Citing the MSCI Index, WSJ noted New York office building prices have dropped 45 percent from pre-pandemic peaks.
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