When the AIG headquarters at 72 Wall Street was sold last Wednesday, a new baseline for Class B office space Downtown of $107 per square foot was set. Youngwoo & Associates and Kumho Investment Bank bought the space for $150 million, the New York Post reported. AIG has 18 months to move from 72 Wall Street to the Goldman Sachs space at 180 Maiden Lane. Goldman, which has already collected $20.5 million in rent from AIG for the space, will collect another $52.8 million before the move is completed. Joseph Moinian, of the Moinian Group, is currently suing Goldman Sachs for $175 million, arguing that Goldman is supposed to pay him 50 percent of anything the company makes on the 180 Maiden Lane sublease. His suit claims that Goldman had allowed AIG to lease the space at far below market value.

The New York Observer profiles Young Woo, whose Youngwoo and Associates
purchased AIG’s 70 Pine Street and 72 Wall Street earlier this month
for $140 million. Colleagues said that if any developer can succeed in
this market, Woo can. He started his first business, a sweater factory,
in Buenos Aires at age 16. He studied architecture at the Pratt
Institute and ended up bringing that background into real estate, and
has developed such buildings as the Chelsea Arts Tower on West 25th
Street and the condominium at 200 Eleventh Avenue. Woo is currently
competing against several other developers for Pier 57. [more]

Youngwoo & Associates and Kumho Investment Bank have agreed to purchase two buildings owned by American International Group, the 70 Pine Street headquarters, which could receive a landmark designation, and adjacent 72 Wall Street. The two Financial District buildings have a combined 1.4 million square feet of rentable space. The sale went into contract last week, according to a press release from CB Richard Ellis, which arranged the sale. The sale price was not disclosed. TRD [more]

According to the Post, AIG may have signed a contract to sell its two
buildings in Lower Manhattan, 70 Pine Street and 72 Wall Street, which
are connected by a skywalk. Sources said a foreign buyer will pay about
$100 million for the 1.05 million square feet of space. The buyers are
expected to create a mixed-use development that could include
residential and retail space, and will have to put down at least a $10
million deposit at the contract signing. Because of anti-terror
legislation, the Department of State will have to approve the overseas
buyer. [more]

Industry sources told the Observer that bidders on AIG’s two downtown
skyscrapers are pricing the towers at about $100 per square foot. That puts the value of AIG’s 70 Pine Street at $77.4 million, and 72 Wall
Street about $32.5 million. Sources said AIG will likely close a deal
with one of the bidders in the next few weeks. According to Robert
Sammons, managing director of research at Colliers ABR, the AIG transactions
would mark the first major tower sales in Lower Manhattan since January
2008, when 156 Williams Street sold for $60 million — or $238 a foot
– and would indicate how far values have fallen. Some commercial
market experts say the fact that people are looking to buy the AIG buildings
shows confidence in the market, while others say the lowball bids
underscore deep problems in the Financial District.
[more]