Qatar pays $91M to control nearly all of condo building 809 First Avenue

By Adam Pincus

The Qatari government’s investment arm purchased five commercial condominium units in 809 First Avenue, a 12-story office tower located between 45th and 46th streets, across the street from the United Nations. It now controls nearly the entire building.

The seller was the Institute of International Education, a nonprofit that manages international educational work on behalf of the U.S. departments of State and Defense, including the Fulbright program. The institute developed the building into condos in 1998 and now no longer owns any units in the structure located between 45th and 46th streets.

The Qatari government purchased units 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 which span the floors 1, 2, 5-9 and 12, which cover approximately 60,000 square feet. The building was already home to the Qatar Permanent Mission to the United Nations. The Gulf government purchased condo units 5 and 6, which cover floors 3 and 4, with about 14,000 square feet, in 1999. The remaining unit in the building, the 13,255-square-foot number 8, is owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom purchased the unit September 28, 2001. It covers floors 10 and 11.

This is the second major purchase recorded by the Qatar Investment Authority this month. Three weeks ago the fund recorded the acquisition of the St. Regis hotel for $310 million from Marriott International.

The purchase by Qatar was preceded by a change in the condo operating agreement. In May the condo board amended the condo rules to remove a right of first refusal to purchase or lease a condo unit, which had been given to any current occupant of a unit. That rule had been a part of the condo’s bylaws since 1998.