ESRT pays $113.6M to Cohen Brothers for 2 ground leased fee properties in Manhattan

Empire State Realty Trust, also known as ESRT, paid $113.6 million to Charles Cohen’s Cohen Brothers Realty for two ground leased fee properties in Manhattan, in two transactions. In both cases, ESRT is the ground tenant, so with these transactions is taking full control of both properties.

In the larger, Empire State Realty Trust through the entity ESRT 1400 Broadway Fee, L.L.C. paid $61.3 million to Cohen Brothers Realty through the entity 112-1400 Trade Properties LLC for the ground leased fee office building (O4) at 1400 Broadway in Garment District, Manhattan. The expected use is cash flowing.
The deal closed on May 20, 2026 and was recorded on June 4, 2026. The property has 768,321 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $79 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.)

In the second, Empire State Realty Trust through the entity Esrt 112 West 34th Street Fee, L.L.C. paid $52.3 million to Cohen Brothers Realty through the entity 112-1400 Trade Properties LLC for the ground leased fee office building (O4) at 112-120 W. 34th Street in Penn Plaza, Manhattan. The expected use is cash flowing.
The deal closed on May 20, 2026 and was recorded on June 4, 2026. The property has 806,417 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $64 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 July 15, 2014, for $26.4 million.

The signatory for Cohen Brothers Realty was Charles S. Cohen . The signatory for Empire State Realty Trust was Stephen V. Horn . The contract date was May 13, 2026.

Charles S. Cohen’s father Sherman Cohen, and Sherman’s brother Edward B. Cohen as individuals and as executors of the estate of their brother Mortimer H. Cohen, bought the fee in 1967.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Empire State Realty Trust purchased 16 properties in 10 transactions for a total of $658 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Cohen Brothers Realty had not purchased any other properties and sold or turned over three properties in three transactions for a total of $359 million over the same time period. The 768,321-square-foot property generated revenue of $46.5 million or $61 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.
Traded reported on June 02, 2026 that Empire State Realty Trust paid $110 million to affiliates of Cohen Brothers Realty for 111 West 33rd Street, New York, NY and 1400 Broadway, New York, NY.

The property

The office building in Garment District has 768,321 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 98 feet and is 200 feet deep with a total lot size of 28,950 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 $214 million.

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 and $600 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there is one active major alteration construction project, 123798104, for a 768,530 square-foot B building. The project was submitted by Tee Nikezi with plans filed February 10, 2020 and permitted June 4, 2020.

The neighborhood

In Garment District, The majority, or 69 percent of the 52.3 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 13 percent of the space. In sales, Garment District has the 9th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.5 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Garment District is the 6th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 11.6 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 22 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There were 731 pre-foreclosure suit filed among other office buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the seven commercial properties representing 2,577,661 square feet of the 2,633,484 square feet. The largest owner is Shorenstein Properties, followed by Empire State Realty Trust and then Olmstead Properties.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 100 percent of the 2.6 million square feet of built space are office buildings, with mixed-use buildings next occupying 0 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Cohen Brothers Realty owned at least five commercial properties in New York City with 2,145,126 square feet and a PincusCo-determined asset value of $1.4 billion. The portfolio has $396 million in debt, borrowed from Citibank and Third Avenue Design Capital. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 96 percent of the 2,145,126 square feet of built space are office properties, with M1 properties next occupying 3 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Empire State Realty Trust owned at least 32 commercial properties with 745 residential units in New York City with 8,466,354 square feet and a PincusCo-determined asset value of $5.5 billion. The portfolio has $233.5 million in debt, borrowed from Morgan Stanley. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 88 percent of the 8,466,354 square feet of built space are office properties, with elevator properties next occupying 8 percent of the space. The bulk, or 98 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 1 percent of the space.

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