NEW YORK CITY — Northwind Group and Newmark Holdings have acquired 40-42 Exchange Place, a 20-story office building with ground-floor retail in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District. Eastern Consolidated arranged the $115 million sale. The office building was on the market for the first time in 25 years.
“This office building is a great value-add opportunity in Lower Manhattan, which is undergoing a significant renaissance and has become a thriving, 24/7 live/work/play neighborhood,” says Jason Marin, director of Eastern Consolidated.
Marin and former Eastern broker Lipa Lieberman represented the seller, Weiss Realty, in the transaction. Lieberman and former Eastern broker Abie Kassin represented the buyer. Gary Meese, senior director of financial services at Eastern, was the analyst for the deal.
At one point the tallest building in Lower Manhattan, the 250,000-square-foot property is located at the southeast corner of Exchange Place and William Street, one block from Wall Street. The corner property includes 18-foot ceilings on the first floor, 14-foot ceilings on the 2nd floor and more than 11-foot ceilings throughout the rest of the building.
Originally built as a neo-Renaissance residential building in 1896 and ultimately converted to office, the building has two primary entrances — one on Exchange Place and one on William Street. The lobby contains an elevator bank, security desk, a small convenience store and second entrances to some retail spaces. Materials used in the lobby include terrazzo tile floors, marble walls and a decorative ceiling.
The property is located four blocks to the 4, 5 subway at Wall Street and Broadway, one block to the 2, 3 at William and Pine streets and one block to the J, Z at Broad Street and Exchange Place.
Founded in 1981, New York City-based Eastern Consolidated is a full-service commercial real estate firm that generates up to $4 billion in annual sales through its investment sales, capital advisory and retail leasing services.
Newmark Holdings is an owner, operator, property manager and developer of commercial real estate. The company’s portfolio spans more than 13 million square feet of commercial space throughout New York City.
Northwind Group is a privately owned, Manhattan-based owner/operator of value-added real estate properties predominantly in downtown Manhattan. Northwind owns a portfolio comprising office, residential, retail and hospitality assets.
— John Nelson