Thor Equities to Buy ESRT's 1359 Broadway for $218M

Commercial Observer reports Thor Equities has agreed to pay $218 million for Empire State Realty Trust's 1359 Broadway, a 22-story tower two blocks north of Herald Square. The 486,000-square-foot property had been shopped at a $225 million asking price about a month earlier. The contract price, about $7 million below ask, values the building at roughly $449 per square foot, against about $463 at ask.

The sale is expected to close within the next month or two and isn't official. Newmark's Adam Spies, Josh King, Adam Doneger, Avery Silverstein, Marcella Fasulo and Doug Harmon represented ESRT. Commercial Observer was unable to identify Thor's broker, and neither ESRT nor Thor responded to its requests for comment.

The tower was 95 percent occupied as of last month, with recent leases from Infinium Wall Systems, SLCE Architects and the nonprofit Braven. Wolfgang's Steakhouse and Wokuni occupy the retail space. A nearly full building selling just below ask suggests tenant demand for Midtown offices remains firm.

The purchase is Thor's second Midtown office deal this year. In March, Joe Sitt's firm acquired Michael Haddad's 58,000-square-foot office and retail building at 1165 Broadway for $56 million. That deal priced at about $966 per square foot, more than double the per-foot price at 1359 Broadway. Two purchases five months apart, at $449 and $966 per square foot, show how much size changes the math on Broadway office buys.