NEW YORK — AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB) has purchased the Manhattan home of the American Bible Society, located at 1865 Broadway in the Upper West Side, for $300 million.
AvalonBay intends to raze the organization’s headquarters and use the 22,500-square-foot site to construct a 300,000-square-foot apartment tower, which will include retail at the base.
The society will remain in the building through the third quarter of 2015. AvalonBay expects to begin construction on the tower in late 2016.
The building currently located at 1865 Broadway is a 12-story, 156,000-square-foot Class C office building that was constructed in 1965. According to media reports, the American Bible Society, which has been located in the building since construction, will relocate to the Philadelphia area.
The site is located within two blocks of iconic Manhattan locales such as Columbus Circle, Lincoln Center and Central Park.
The retail component at the base of the tower could be comprised of nearly 60,000 square feet of leasable space, according to some media reports.
AvalonBay has indicated that in the future it may enter into a joint venture or forward sale agreement with respect to the retail component.
Helen Hwang, Nathaniel Rockett, Karen Widenmann and Brian Szczapa with Cushman & Wakefield Inc. represented the seller. The buyer handled the sale in-house.
AvalonBay, an equity REIT, owns or holds an interest in 277 apartment communities containing 82,487 apartment homes in 11 states and Washington, D.C.
AvalonBay’s stock price closed at $172.65 per share on Monday, Feb. 2, up from $123.50 per share a year ago.
— Scott Reid