NYC Hotel union pays $69.5M to Nuveen, Clarion, Union Investment for Ladies Mile retail, office

UPDATED 6:50 a.m., September 24, 2024: The New York Hotel Trades Council and Hotel Association of New York City Health Center paid a total of $69.5 million in two transactions for the office and the retail condominiums that make up the commercial building at 646 Sixth Avenue, at the corner of 19th Street on the Ladies Mile stretch of the Flatiron District, Manhattan. The expected use is owner-occupied.

In the first transaction, the hotel union paid $37.5 million for a 17,563-square-foot retail condominium to Nuveen Real Estate and the German fund manager Union Investment through the entity CPF 636 Sixth Avenue LLC.

In the second transaction, the hotel union paid $32 million to Clarion Partners through the entity 636 Sixth Avenue Owner LLC for the office condo at 636 Avenue Of The Amer in Manhattan.  The deal closed on September 13, 2024 and was recorded on September 23, 2024. The property has 55,707 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $574 per the PincusCo analysis.hotel union paid $
The Real Deal and the Commercial Observer reported on this transaction last week. At the time of those reports, the individual sale prices for the retail  the office price was not reported.

The retail condo has 9,127 square feet on the ground floor, 695 square feet on a mezzanine and 7,741 square feet on the lower level, equating to a blended price of $2,135 per foot, but approximately $3,100 per square foot if 75 percent of the value is allocated to the first floor. The office portion has 55,707 square feet on floors one through seven as well as the lower level and mezzanine.

The hotel will use the office and retail portion of the building as a new headquarters. A portion of the building will be used as a medical facility to serve union members.

The deal closed on September 13, 2024 and was recorded on September 23, 2024. The sale went into contract on July 29, 2024.
CBRE’s Doug Middleton, Daniel Kaplan, Jack Stillwagon and Justin Arzi brokered the transactions.

The neighborhood

In Flatiron District, The majority, or 71 percent of the 23.2 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 15 percent of the space. In sales, Flatiron District has near average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $358.7 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 22nd highest in Manhattan. For development, Flatiron District has near average amount of major developments among other neighborhoods and is the 12th highest in Manhattan. It had 2.8 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 12 of the 23 commercial properties representing 777,249 square feet of the 992,313 square feet. The largest owner is Block Buildings, followed by Gerald Shallo and then L&L Holding. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

Updated with information on the purchase of the office portion of the building, which was recorded several hours after the retail portion.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page.