From left: 304 Park Avenue South and Doug Harmon of Eastdil Secured

[Updated at 3:51 p.m. with comment from Berley and SL Green] SL Green, the largest commercial office landlord in New York City, said it agreed to buy 304 Park Avenue South for $135 million, or $628 a square foot, from a partnership led by David Berley, chairman of Walter & Samuels Inc.

SL Green said the 215,000 square foot office and retail complex, located on the corner of 23rd Street across from the landlord’s One Madison Avenue tower, will be acquired with 50 percent cash and 50 percent “operating partnership units.” [more]

From left: SL Green CEO Marc Holliday, SL Green President Andrew Mathias, Extell President Gary Barnett and Governor Andrew Cuomo

The leaders of the city’s largest office landlord, SL Green, ranked at the top of a list of the most powerful people in New York City real estate compiled by the New York Observer. The ranking was based on “access and influence,” or the ability to influence the outcome of potential projects and access people who can help push an agenda forward. [more]

From left: SL Green President Andrew Mathias, 180 Maiden Lane, 280 Park Avenue and 3 Columbus Circle

SL Green Realty, the city’s largest landlord, has suddenly put a halt to its acquisition binge, Crain’s reported, and has turned its focus to filling the space it already owns.

Since the end of 2009 the firm has had a hand in many of the large office tower trades in Manhattan, bringing its portfolio to 34 towers and about 25.5 million square feet. SL Green even dabbled more heavily in retail properties and, for the first time, residential properties. Earlier this year, it assembled 49,000 square feet of retail space in Times Square with Jeff Sutton, and acquired an eight-building portfolio including 724 Fifth Avenue with Stonehenge Partners. … [more]

From left: Jeff Sutton, SL Green President Andrew Mathias and 141 Fifth Avenue

SL Green Realty and its joint venture partner, Jeff Sutton, have made an agreement to sell two retail condominium units totaling 9,860 square feet at 141 Fifth Avenue for $46 million, SL Green announced today. The identity of the buyer was not immediately clear.

The transaction, which is subject to the lender’s approval of the transfer, is expected to generate around $17.5 million in net proceeds for SL Green, the company said in a statement.

Andrew Mathias, president of SL Green, said: “SL Green continuously looks to take advantage of evolving market conditions to enhance both its office and retail portfolios with selective dispositions and acquisitions. We are very pleased with the growth and success of our retail platform and anticipate making more strategic investments in the near term.” -- Katherine Clarke… [more]

Fresh off his joint $136 million purchase with SL Green of 1552 Broadway, the Times Square commercial property that houses TGI Friday’s, Jeff Sutton has become one of the most prominent retail landlords in the city, The New York Observer said. According to the profile, in which Sutton declined to participate (as he did for a recent story by The Real Deal on his Manhattan activity), the Gravesend, Brooklyn-native started his march to the top in the early 1990s with a risky strategy: he would get the lease first, and then buy the space with the lease money. He used the strategy first with Payless Shoes and then CVS, before landing his big break in 2002, signing American Girl at 609 Fifth Avenue.
… [more]

From left: Douglas Durst, Jody Durst, Andrew Cuomo, Marc Holliday and Andrew Mathias

What do Douglas and Jody Durst, heads of the Durst Organization, Marc Holliday and Andrew Mathias of SL Green and Governor Andrew Cuomo have in common? They topped the Observer’s annual list of the 100 most powerful people in New York real estate. Carlos Slim, believed by some to be the world’s richest person, Sam Zell and Gary Barnett headline the notable newcomers to the list, while old money like Peter and Anthony Malkin and Bill Rudin also place in the top quarter of the list. Finally, the newest presidential candidate, Donald Trump, jumped two places to 14th on the list from last year, and and Mitchell Steir and Michael Colacino are the highest ranking working brokers, both at No. 33. [NYO]… [more]

SL Green Realty has bought out its joint venture partner in Times Square’s 1515 Broadway, giving the city’s largest office landlord full ownership of the property in a transaction valuing it at $1.21 billion, the company announced today. SL Green had owned the 1.75 million-square-foot building with SITQ, a subsidiary of Canadian investment fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, one of several joint ventures for the pair throughout the city. TRD… [more]

Some of the top 100, from left: Stephen Ross, Marc Holliday, Andrew Mathias, Mort Zuckerman, Dolly Lenz

The New York Observer has released its list of the 100 most powerful people in New York City real estate, with Stephen Ross, chairman of Related Companies, ousting last year’s number one ranked player, President Barack Obama from the top spot. The list is populated with many long-time real estate bigwigs. SL Green honchos Marc Holliday and Andrew Mathias jointly took the second place title, up from last year’s showing at number seven, while Boston Properties CEO Mort Zuckerman stayed in the third place position. … [more]

SL Green Realty is selling its 45 percent stake in the 51-story McGraw-Hill building for more than $500 million in an effort to raise cash for recent and future acquisitions, the Wall Street Journal reported. The city’s largest landlord prefers a controlling stake in its properties, said president Andrew Mathias, which is why it wanted to sell the 1221 Sixth Avenue tower near Rockefeller Center. The buyer, Toronto’s Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, paid $576 million for the share, including $500 million in cash. … [more]

SL Green Realty has closed on a $475 million refinancing of 1515 Broadway, home to Viacom International, the company announced today. The building, between 44th and 45th streets, is owned by SL Green in a joint venture with SITQ, a real estate investment, management and development subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, or the Quebec Deposit and Investment Fund. A syndicate led by the Bank of China provided the new five-year, floating rate mortgage. SL Green and SITQ replaced the former $625 million mortgage that was due to mature in November this year with longer-term financing. “We
were able to source this financing which required a lower equity
contribution than previously forecast,” said SL Green President Andrew
Mathias. TRD