Staples signs a lease at 442 Fifth Avenue

Office supply retailer Staples signed a 17,500-square-foot lease in the HSBC building owned by Midtown Equities and the Israel-based IDB Group, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 39th Street. The retailer took 6,000 square feet of ground-floor space and 11,500 square feet of mezzanine space, in the lease at 442 Fifth Avenue that was signed during the first week in February, a source familiar with the deal said. The landlord had been asking $2.2 million for the entire space, or about $125 per square foot blended, the source said. [more]

With commercial property values spiraling downward, foreign investors are looking to inject capital into Manhattan’s premier buildings, but some experts say they’re too eager for their own good. There’s not enough product to go around, said columnist Lois Weiss, and foreigners are having trouble securing bids on properties, or even getting their calls returned. “Everyone shows up wanting to buy trophies on the cheap and thinks they’re going to steal the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building,” said Will Silverman of Studley’s capital markets group. Nonetheless, many foreign investors are succeeding in their efforts, and benefiting from exchange rates to boot. Recently, Joseph Cayre partnered with Israeli IDB Associates in purchasing 452 Fifth Avenue from HSBC at $400 per foot, and another Israeli company, Gilmore and Optibase, is acquiring SL Green Realty’s 485 Lexington Avenue at $560 per foot. The Middle Eastern Safra family is in serious talks to buy a 49 percent interest in 299 Park Avenue from UBS, and the Italian Sorgente Group purchased a piece of the Flatiron Building this week. [Post, 1st item]

Joseph Cayre of Midtown Equities and 452 Fifth Avenue (Photo source: PropertyShark)

Less than a day has passed since Midtown Equities and Israeli holding company IDB Group announced their acquisition of HSBC Bank USA’s New York headquarters at 452 Fifth Avenue, between 39th and 40th streets, but Joseph Cayre, founder and principal of Midtown Equities, said that there will be more deals like it. This was the first time Midtown Equities had teamed up with IDB, but
Cayre said the companies are now working on six or seven projects
together in New York City, where they will be “either buying buildings
outright or buying first mortgage notes from banks.” Cayre said at 452 Fifth Avenue he already has two parties seriously considering signing a lease on the top 18 floors that will be vacant come 2011. HSBC will continue to occupy the remaining 11 floors of the 29-story, 865,000-square-foot building, which went for $330 million, or $400 per square foot, for a 10-year term. [more]