Top 5 Office Building Sales—October 2020

Source: PropertyShark, a Yardi Systems Inc. company

1. 14 53rd St., Brooklyn
   Sale Price: $84,089,050

Nightingale Properties acquired a 75 percent interest in the 465,000-square-foot property known as the Whale Square building in Sunset Park. The seller, Madison Realty Capital, retained a minority stake in the asset. The new owner assumed a $90 million loan that Madison took out in 2018 from TPG Capital. Madison paid $82.5 million for the building in 2015 and repositioned the former torpedo factory into an office building in 2019.

2. 207 E. 32nd St., Manhattan
   Sale Price: $7,500,000

207 E. 32nd St., Manhattan

Literary magazine The New York Review of Books acquired the former headquarters of celebrated graphic artist Milton Glaser in early October. Completed in 1920, the 9,535-square-foot beaux-art building was developed by the Tammany Hall Central Association in 1920 and later housed the New York Magazine. Milton Glaser, founder of New York Magazine, purchased the Kips Bay property in 1965. The townhouse served as the magazine’s home from 1968 to 1974 when New York Magazine relocated, but Glaser’s office remained.

3. 189-10 Hillside Ave., Queens
   Sale Price: $4,525,000

Piermont Properties sold the 17,600-square-foot building located on a 0.2-acre site in Hollis, across the street from Jamaica Estates. Piermont had owned the asset since late 2018 when the company bought the property for $4.1 million for from North Capital Holdings. Completed in 1997, the steel and concrete structure features an indoor parking lot and more than 15,000 square feet of additional air rights, allowing for some 32,000 square feet of potential development on top of the existing building.

4. 102 Commerce St., Brooklyn
   Sale Price: $3,800,000

The CHS Group sold the 5,250-square-foot building in early October and remained a tenant at the two-story property. The Red Hook building was completed in 1922 and underwent upgrades in recent years. Located one block off Van Brunt Street and two blocks from the entrance to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, the property provides access to the F-G subway via the station at the NW corner of Smith and Second streets, while the B61 bus route is accessible at the intersection of Van Brunt and Commerce streets.

5. 61-02 Maurice Ave., Queens
   Sale Price: $3,200,000

The 4,945-square-foot Maspeth office building changed hands in a portfolio transaction along with two adjacent properties—the 4,410-square-foot building located at 61-04 Maurice Ave. and the 5,075-square-foot building at 61-06 Maurice Ave. The first asset includes three commercial units, while the second and third structures incorporate two commercial units each. The nearest transportation options include the 7 subway station at the SE corner of 61st Street and Roosevelt Avenue, as well as the Q67 bus line accessible at the intersection of 53rd Drive and 62nd Street.