Times Square lease sold for $33.4M

The owner of a 50-year lease covering a 9,300-square-foot Times Square building sold it for $33.4 million.

Alessandro Carozza sold the lease covering the retail and office building located at 162-164 West 48th Street on August 15, according to city records published today. The buyer was listed as 164 West 48th Street LLC.

Carozza said in an interview that he could not immediately recall when the lease was set to expire.

The four-story building is occupied by Sam Ash Music, a national music chain based in Hicksville, Long Island.

The Rockefeller Group Development Corporation bought the 5,077-square-foot building next door at 160 West 48th Street for $13.8 million in May, city records showed.

Carozza said the Rockefeller Group planned to develop the half-block on the south side of 48th Street west of Seventh Avenue.

The Rockefeller Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Game show host and producer Merv Griffin owned the building for six months before selling it in 1970, city records showed.