99c LLC pays $297M to Banyan Street for FiDi office building, was $470M in 2015

99c LLC, led by Canadian investor Carlo Bellini, through the entity Maiden Glass LLC paid $297 million to Banyan Street Capital through the entity Downtown NYC Owner, LLC for the office building (O4) at 180 Maiden Lane in Financial District, Manhattan.

The Commercial Observer reported the buyer was Carlo Bellini of 99c.  In a short sale, the lender agrees to sell the property for an amount lower than the debt.
The deal closed on July 3, 2024 and was recorded on July 11, 2024. The property has 1,079,361 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $275 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The seller bought the property on January 7, 2015, for $470 million. The signatory for Banyan Street Capital was David Sturner. The signatory for 99c LLC was Thomas Ta. The contract date was July 3, 2024.

MHP Real Estate Services in a joint venture with Clarion Partners bought 180 Maiden Lane for $470 million. MHP Real Estate Services, formerly known as Murray Hill Properties, sold a majority interest in its company to Banyan Street Capital, The Real Deal reported in 2018.  Norman Sturner retired in 2020, the Commercial Observer reported at the time.  David Sturner, Norman Sturner’s son, is a senior managing director at Banyan Street Capital.

To finance the purchase, 99c LLC obtained a $193.1 million acquisition loan from lender ING Capital. ING was the former lender to Banyan Street Capital, which provided a $372 million refinance and renovation loan in December 2019.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer 99c LLC purchased 30 properties in one transactions for a total of $252 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Banyan Street Capital had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The office building in Financial District has 1,079,361 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 231 feet and is 212 feet deep with a total lot size of 46,798 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C5-3 which allows for up to 15 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $263.5 million. The most recent loan totaled $372 million and was provided by ING on December 30, 2019.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received one DOB violation, $1,250 in ECB penalties, and $2,400 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on September 21, 2012. On the lot, there is one active major alteration construction project for a 1,079,361 square-foot B building. The project was submitted by David Sturner with plans filed September 5, 2019 and permitted October 15, 2019.

The neighborhood

In Financial District, The majority, or 74 percent of the 79.9 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 15 percent of the space. In sales, Financial District has the 5th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $2.1 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Financial District is the 3rd most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 9.4 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 12 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the four commercial properties representing 1,079,361 square feet of the 1,963,956 square feet. The identified owner is Mhp Real Estate Services.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 85 percent of the 2 million square feet of built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 15 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that 99c Llc owned at least two commercial properties with 66 residential units in New York City with 7,125 square feet and a city-determined market value of $6.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 7,125 square feet of built space are industrial properties, with development properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. They are all located in Brooklyn.

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