Reflecting the momentum in downtown’s commercial market, 80 Broad St. is selling for more than three times what its current owner paid three years ago.
Broad Street Development, led by Raymond Chalmé and Daniel Blanco, has a “hard” contract to buy the 36-story, 430,000 square-foot, Art Deco-detailed prewar office property from Savanna Investment Fund for $175 million — in the low $400s a square foot.
Savanna took control of 80 Broad St. in 2011, when it purchased the senior mortgage at a 12 percent discount on its $75 million face value.
Eastdil Secured’s Doug Harmon and Adam Spies brokered the sale to Broad Street for Savanna, after fielding what a source called “aggressive” offers by local and foreign investors. Eastdil and Savanna declined to comment.
An elated Chalmé noted that the impending purchase “brings Broad Street back to Broad Street.” His company recently sold 55 Broadway in the mid-$400s per-square-foot range and 55 Broadway for nearly $500 a square foot.
“After that, people thought we’d pack it up and sit on the beach,” chuckled Chalmé.
He credited Savanna with “an outstanding job cleaning up” 80 Broad St. “It needed new infrastructure and it was impacted by Hurricane Sandy.” Savanna moved electrical and mechanical systems out of future harm’s way to the second floor, and re-tenanted the address to 89 percent occupancy.
Chalmé said that as some leases roll over the next few years, 80 Broad St. will draw such new tenants as tech firms that want to go beyond the “incubator” stage.
The city’s first Charlie Palmer Steak restaurant will open in September at Charles S. Cohen’s 3 E. 54th St., replacing Rothmann’s steak house, which has closed. The 3,500 square-foot space will seat nearly 190 beef-lovers.
Although modern-American master Charlie Palmer first achieved fame at the original Aureole on East 61st Street, he’s cut a wider profile outside the city, despite launching a larger, Michelin-starred Aureole on West 42nd Street. His Charlie Palmer Group runs 11 restaurants around the US, including steak spots in Washington, DC and Las Vegas.
But he’s re-taken Manhattan with a vengeance. “We’ve been searching for a location for Charlie Palmer Steak in New York for quite a few years,” said Palmer. Lease terms were not released.
The new beef palace will boast lots of natural light and brighter trim to set off dark wood and leather, and floor-to-ceiling front windows.
Palmer will also run the restaurants at the soon-to-open Knickerbocker Hotel on 42nd Street and next week launches Crimson & Rye in the Lipstick Building.
At another Cohen property, the D&D Building on Third Avenue, he’s turning cafe/event space Astra into larger Upper Story.
Everyone knows that Bank of New York Mellon received big state tax incentives to keep its headquarters in Lower Manhattan. BNY will move from 1 Wall St., which it’s selling, to 225 Liberty St. at Brookfield Place.
Of course, New Jersey also offered BNY the moon and maybe more. Sources credited Gov. Andrew Cuomo with a major role in persuading BNY not to cross the Hudson.
But an additional prod to stay apparently came from Washington.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, a senior member of both the powerful Banking and Finance committees, told us that convincing BNY Mellon not to bolt wasn’t merely a “campaign,” but “almost a crusade” on his part.
“I met with their CEO Gerald L. Hassell,” Schumer said.
“I’ve had a long relationship with them. I told him how strongly I felt about it,” Schumer said.
“I was really upset about the New Jersey option. I made substantive arguments to BNY Mellon about the advantages of Manhattan.
“You can’t begrudge them selling their old building for a profit, but you could begrudge them using the money to go outside the city.”
BNY spokesman Kevin Heine declined to comment.
JLL New York- area President Peter Riguardi, who repped BNY in the 350,000 square-foot deal, said, “The bank had three choices” — Brookfield, Jersey City and 1 World Trade Center — “which all would have been
tremendous solutions. I think Brookfield will be great.”