Saks Fifth Avenue building gets $3.7B valuation

Parent Hudson's Bay considering tying tower to REIT to wring out extra capital

611 Fifth Avenue in Midtown (Credit: Richard Baker)
611 Fifth Avenue in Midtown (Credit: Richard Baker)

The Landmarked Saks Fifth Avenue building, owned by Hudson’s Bay Company, has been valued at $3.7 billion.

Canadian department-store chain Hudson’s Bay refinanced the 36-story, 1 million-square-foot building at 611 Fifth Avenue with a 20-year loan of $1.25 billion on the ground portion, Bloomberg News reported. As part of the refinancing, an appraiser upped the building’s valuation.

Next year, the tower will begin a $250 million renovation.

“We believe that this building is the most valuable retail building in the world,” Hudson’s Bay CEO Richard Baker told Bloomberg. “What’s going on in Manhattan is valuations and rents and transactions have gone up materially, and this appraisal is a real indication of the strength of that market.”

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Baker said the proposal could become part of a real estate investment trust and used to secure extra debt.

Hudson’s Bay paid a total of $2.9 billion for the Saks Fifth Avenue chain last year, as previously reported.

The General Motors building at 767 Fifth Avenue was valued at $3.4 billion last year — making it the most valuable office property in the U.S. — after a 40 percent stake was sold, as previously reported.

The General Motors building, the Wall Street Journal reported. This values the building at 767 Fifth Avenue at roughly $3.4 billion, making it the country’s most valuable office property. [Bloomberg News]Mark Maurer