Singapore pays $30M for East Side garage

The Singapore government paid $29.5 million for a 40,000-square-foot garage building near the United Nations that will be converted to office space, a broker on the deal said.

The Government of the Republic of Singapore closed on the purchase of 318 East 48th Street, between First and Second avenues, Oct.1, according to Gil Robinov, executive managing director at brokerage NAI Global New York City, who represented the southeast Asian nation.

Note: Correction appended.

The seller was Chapman Consulting Group, an owner and operator of garages, and was represented by David Noonan at Newmark Knight Frank, a statement from NAI Global said.

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The five-story structure will be converted to an office building or be demolished and rebuilt at about the same size, for the nation’s mission and consulate offices to the United Nations, Robinov said.

Singapore paid $737 per square foot, almost double the average price per square foot of $392 for Manhattan office building sales closed in the first half of the year, according to data in a July report from investment brokerage Massey Knakal Realty Services.

The government was willing to pay a relatively high price to be near the United Nations, which is a block away, Robinov said.

“They had to be near the UN; this was an excellent location and there is not much available in the area,” he said.