New York, NY – December 14, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Savanna, a New York-based real estate private equity firm with investments in $3 billion of real estate in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic corridor, today purchased 1375 Broadway, a 513,401-square-foot corner office building located on Broadway and 37th Street, for $135 million. With this purchase, Savanna has acquired four New York City office buildings in 2010, totaling approximately 1.4 million square feet, including 386 Park Avenue South, 5 Hanover Square, 104 W. 40th Street and now 1375 Broadway.
The company plans to launch a major capital improvement plan to upgrade the building, including installation of a new entrance and lobby, systems and façade upgrades, as well as other improvements.
“We are pleased to add this prime property to our growing portfolio of commercial properties in Manhattan, and we are confident that this building will offer a compelling return on investment to our investors,” said Nicholas Bienstock, a Managing Partner of Savanna.
Savanna entered into a transaction to simultaneously purchase the fee ownership from Chedward Realty Corporation and the long-term net lease from Statecourt Enterprises Inc., and then collapsed the positions into fee simple ownership immediately following closing.
“This was a large, complex, time-of-the essence transaction which needed to be done within a highly compressed timeline. We signed a term sheet with Morgan Stanley on November 17th and closed a $102 million loan with them three weeks later. All the parties involved, including the sellers of the ground and net lease positions, Morgan Stanley, Cole Schotz, Paul Hastings, Studley & Company, Estrich & Company and Colliers, did an amazing job in pulling multiple pieces together to make this transaction happen,” added Mr. Bienstock.
About Savanna
Savanna is a New York City-based institutional real estate private equity fund manager which has been in business since 1992. Savanna pursues opportunistic investments in real estate equity and debt assets throughout the northeastern United States, with a particular emphasis on the major markets surrounding New York and Washington DC.
