Bentley Zhao’s New Empire in contract to pay $51M for 180K sf Midtown West dev site

New Empire Corp., through the entity Fifth Ave Tower Management LLC, has entered into a contract to acquire the seven-story building located at 4 West 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan for $51 million, which is a development property with potential for up to 180,000 square feet.
The seller, The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, also known as the Unification Church, filed a petition with the New York State Supreme Court in New York County on April 16, 2026, seeking judicial approval for the sale of the approximately 72,568-square-foot property.

Case LINK

The agreed-upon price represents a premium over a February 2026 independent appraisal that valued the asset at $49 million.

The transaction followed an extensive 20-month marketing campaign led by James Nelson and Alexandra Marolda of Avison Young. While the property initially drew 16 offers ranging from $20 million to $47 million by late 2024, the final agreement with New Empire was reached after the developer increased its bid from $49 million to $51 million to remain competitive against a late-stage $54 million offer from a different suitor, according to the petition.

The church ultimately rejected the higher $54 million bid, citing what it described as the buyer’s abbreviated track record and lack of significant due diligence as material risks to closing.

New Empire’s contract is characterized in the petition as having high closing certainty, featuring no financing contingency and a $4.9 million earnest money deposit already funded into escrow.

The developer agreed to purchase the property “as is,” assuming responsibility for existing tenancies, title issues, and complexities arising from recent zoning changes.

Avison Young is expected to receive a brokerage commission of $637,500 upon the successful completion of the sale.

The property, formerly the Columbia University Club, was acquired by the Church in 1975 and served as its national headquarters for decades before operations moved to 481 Eighth Avenue, which is the New Yorker Hotel. After accounting for New York State transfer taxes of $331,500 and other customary closing costs, the seller anticipates net proceeds of approximately $50,023,600. These funds are designated to support leadership and education programs, community-based religious centers, and a liquid reserve for future missionary work.

The legal filing was handled by Janice Goldberg and Joshua Reichek of Herrick, Feinstein LLP

The Avison Young property listing, which did not disclose an asking price, says, “125,530± buildable square foot residential development potential (10 FAR). MiD allows for an additional 2x FAR amenity bonus as per ZR 81-241, increasing the total BSF to 150,636 (not required to purchase off-site inclusionary housing certificates). Opportunity for 180,000+ buildable square feet (14.4x FAR) with the new City of Yes program.”

The property

The property in Midtown West has 72,568 square feet of built space and 52,969 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 125,520 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 125 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 12,552 square feet. The zoning is C6-4.5 which allows for up to 12 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $21.9 million.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has received $2,150 in OATH penalties in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Midtown West, The majority, or 75 percent of the 75.9 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 14 percent of the space. In sales, Midtown West has the 3rd highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $2.6 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Midtown West is the 2nd most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 41.1 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 54 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the seven commercial properties representing 3,522,704 square feet of the 3,787,904 square feet. The largest owner is Brookfield Properties, followed by Reuben Brothers. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The owner

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Luis Araujo, head officer and Tal Zorer, officer. The business entity is Holy Spirit Unification Of World Of Christ.

The surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 16 West 43 Street, PincusCo identified two commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. Of those two items, one was for major renovation including a certificate of occupancy change. It was a permit application filed on October 6, 2025 for the $5 million renovation of 298,528-square-foot residential (J-2) building with 440 residential units at 6 East 43rd Street. One of those two items was a sale which Amazon bought nine condo units in the 147,630-square-foot, 11-unit mixed-use building (RC) on 522 5th Avenue and zero other properties for $340 million from RFR Holding on May 9, 2025.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.