Downtown is hotter than ever, with its desirability on full display this week.
Silverstein Properties’ 4 World Trade Center will officially open Wednesday, just a day after One WTC was declared the tallest tower in the Northern Hemisphere. That follows news that law firm Jones Day has inked a deal for 330,000 square feet at Brookfield Place.
As we’ve previously reported, collecting downtown buildings is all the rage. We’ve just learned that David Tawfik’s Princeton International Property is the buyer of 90 Broad St., which will be his first downtown investment.
The 400,000 square-foot building was previously upgraded by Swig Equities. It will trade for about $126 million, or about $315 per square foot, from a JPMorgan account.
The lower level was ravaged by Superstorm Sandy, but the building is operational and more renovations are planned.
Designed by Cross & Cross in 1930, the building has a gorgeous historic lobby. It is 85 percent leased to a variety of small-office tenants and boasts a Potbelly sandwich shop in its retail space. Asking rents are in the mid- to high $30s per square foot.
Tawfik was traveling and unavailable for comment. Executive Vice President Robert Benedetto confirmed the contract, although he declined to discuss the pricing.
“It has great bones and terrific light and air with views of the river. We think the upside potential is enormous,” Benedetto commented.
Douglas Harmon, Adam Spies and Joshua King of Eastdil Secured marketed the building.
Last December, the Eastdil trio sold Tawfik 104 W. 40th St. for $103 million, which has been rebranded Park House for its location by Bryant Park. The active investor also owns Tower 52 and 232 Madison, among others.
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Typical of the growing downtown tenancies is Merchant Solutions Group, which is doubling the size of its offices at 11 Broadway. It now has 40 employees and will hire more for its expanded footprint.
After starting with the 19th floor last year, the firm is adding the 5,510 square feet on the 20th floor, for a total of 11,020 square feet.
Braun Management represented the ownership in the direct deal with the tenant. The rent is in the neighborhood of $30 per square foot.
Merchant, founded by Billy Morrissey in 2007, helps business owners secure cash advances and loans. The firm — with the slogan “While Banks Say No Merchant Solutions Group Says Yes” — has provided a total of $100 million in funding to various businesses.
Clients include small restaurants and shops, as well as franchisees for Subway, Golden Corral and Burger King.
This spring, the firm advanced $1.625 million to a sports-management company.
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In the Transit Triangle area of Midtown South, production company Animated Storyboards is relocating its headquarters and expanding at 1001 Sixth Ave. on the northwest corner of West 37th Street.
The firm will take over the entire 24th and 25th floors, totaling 10,031 square feet.
Since a terrace was an important factor, the firm’s Cushman & Wakefield brokerage team, led by Melissa Bazar and Jodi Roberts, worked with the owners, who will develop a new rooftop terrace for Animated client entertaining.
The ABS Partners ownership was represented in-house by Douglas Regal and James Caseley and had an asking rent of $55 per square foot.
The global film company is currently located in 4,100 square feet at 1995 Broadway on the Upper West Side near Lincoln Center.
The Cushman & Wakefield team also represented them in a Chicago office deal for 4,142 square feet on a high floor with glorious views at 55 East Monroe.
The company, founded in Tel Aviv in 2001, has facilities in Bangkok and London and plans to open more in Los Angeles; Dusseldorf, Germany; and Shanghai.
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The law firm Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider has renewed and slightly expanded its lease, to 36,000 square feet, at 114 W. 47th Street.
The Newmark Grubb Knight Frank team of Gary Linder, Mark Weiss and Rob Eisenberg represented the tenant, which focuses on antitrust, intellectual property and high-stakes litigation.
Tom Bow and Rocco Romeo represented the Durst Organization ownership in-house.
Durst, which developed the building in 1989, has completed a $7 million lobby renovation program and has installed green roofs.