NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between Deutsche Finance America and BLG Capital have acquired the upper floors of 685 Fifth Ave., an office tower known as the “Gucci Building” in Midtown Manhattan. Other purchasing partners include developer Michael Shvo, The Wings Group and Latner Partners. The sellers are GGP and Thor Equities.
The purchase price was $135 million, according to the New York Post. The buyers raised $155 million of equity for the acquisition and will seek approximately $100 million of debt financing to fully capitalize the project. The partnership is also looking at the potential for redevelopment, according to Sven Neubauer, chief investment officer for Deutsche Finance Group.
Built in 1926, the 20-story building features more than 100,000 square feet of office space. Coach, Stuart Weitzman and Tag Heuer occupy the multi-level retail space at the property.
GGP will continue to own the first through fourth floors. In its second-quarter results released on July 31, the company disclosed the refinancing of a consolidated floating-rate loan of $340 million for 685 Fifth Ave.
Deutsche Finance America is a subsidiary of Germany-based Deutsche Finance Group. BLG Capital is a division of Bilgili Group, which focuses on hotel and lifestyle investments.
— Kristin Hiller