New York University bought the Forbes building at 60 Fifth Avenue at 12th Street for $65 million, city property records published today show, or $530 per square foot. Press reports published before the contract was signed said the building was close to a deal for $55 million. Forbes announced the sale Jan. 7, but did not provide the price. The sale by the publishing company went into contract Dec. 17 and closed Jan. 7, the records show. The price is 53 percent off the listing price when the 122,500-square-foot building initially hit the market in 2007. TRD [more]

The Forbes building at 60 Fifth Avenue and Michael Alfano, NYU executive vice president

New York University has purchased the Forbes building at 60 Fifth Avenue at the corner of 12th Street, according to a press release from Forbes magazine, the seller. The eight-story, 122,500-square-foot structure was built in 1924 for book publisher MacMillian & Company, owned by the family of the late British PM Harold MacMillian. Forbes magazine moved into the building in 1962. The building was originally listed for sale in 2007 with Cushman & Wakefield. The New York Post reported last month that the publishing company was
close to a deal for $55 million, which a Forbes spokesperson flatly
denied. The terms of today’s deal were not disclosed, but Forbes said no broker was involved in the deal. Forbes will be staying in the building as a tenant under a five-year lease-back agreement. The building will be used for academic purposes, as the school looks to expand its properties through “community-oriented planning principles,” according to a written statement from Michael Alfano, NYU executive vice president. The school has had a long-term expansion plan in the works, with an “emphasis on acquiring existing structures rather than resorting to new construction,” Alfano said. The plan has met with some community opposition, with neighborhood activists claiming that it has outgrown the region and should look beyond Greenwich Village for future expansion. TRD [more]

The Forbes headquarters at 60 Fifth Avenue is rumored to be close to contract for roughly 60 percent off the original asking price, in what would be the latest in a string of sales the publishing moguls have made amid sliding advertising revenues industry-wide. Forbes Media originally listed the 144,000-square-foot building for $140 million in 2007 with Cushman & Wakefield. After a potential buyer walked away from a deposit on a $120 million deal, the company was asking $80 million for the property, with a three-year lease back agreement for $3 million each year. Now, sources told the Post that Forbes may sell for $55 million, or just $380 per square foot, to an unidentified buyer. A Forbes spokesperson said no contract has been signed, and flatly denied that the $55 million price tag was a possibility. [Post]