Hiwin Group USA pays $38.5M to Buchbinder & Warren for development in Midtown West

Hiwin Group USA through the entity Hw W 45th St LLC paid $38.5 million to Buchbinder & Warren through the entity 8-16 West 45th Street LLC for the development building (V1) at 8 West 45th Street in Midtown West, Manhattan. The expected use is ground up development.
The deal closed on March 17, 2025 and was recorded on March 20, 2025. The property has 18,720 square feet of built space and 92,390 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 92,390 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $2,056 and the price per buildable square foot is $416 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 signatory for Buchbinder & Warren was Lori Buchbinder . The signatory for Hiwin Group USA was Heli Song . The contract date was January 16, 2024. A Development Site Advisors’ team led by Lev Kimyagarov was the sole broker in this transaction representing both buyer and seller.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Hiwin Group USA purchased four properties in four transactions for a total of $68.2 million and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Buchbinder & Warren had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The development building in Midtown West has 18,720 square feet of built space and 92,390 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 92,390 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 92 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 9,239 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 $5.6 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 $1,250 in ECB penalties and $1,400 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

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 most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 33.5 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 44 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 10 of the 21 commercial properties representing 871,710 square feet of the 1,561,700 square feet. The largest owner is Keck Seng Investments, followed by Arc Global and then Joseph P. Day Realty.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 138,345 square feet. It is a 310-unit, 138,345 square-foot hotel/dormitory/shelter (R-1) building submitted by Fortuna Realty Group and filed by Morris Moinian with plans filed October 2, 2015 and permitted October 6, 2021.

The majority, or 49 percent of the 1.6 million square feet of built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 45 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Buchbinder & Warren owned at least 11 commercial properties with 89 residential units in New York City with 193,208 square feet and a city-determined market value of $152.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $69.4 million in debt, with top three lenders as Apple Bank, National Cooperative Bank, and Apple Bank for Savings respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 33 percent of the 193,208 square feet of built space are walkup properties, with D0 properties next occupying 28 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Hiwin Group Usa owned at least four commercial properties in New York City with 32,515 square feet and a city-determined market value of $18.1 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 100 percent of the 32,515 square feet of built space are retail properties, with development properties next occupying 0 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

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