Bids for 1370 Broadway reach about $130M, sources say

Potential buyers are offering about $130 million for the 16-story office building 1370 Broadway, owned by office landlord Sitt Asset Management and investor Carlton Associates, multiple sources said.

Sitt Asset, controlled by president Ralph Sitt, partnered with the Cohen family’s Carlton Associates to buy the property in 2003 for $57.18 million from property giant SL Green.

Bids for the property, being marketed by Doug Harmon and Adam Spies, senior managing directors of Eastdil Secured, are coming in this week, sources said.

Sitt Asset, Carlton and Eastdil did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

CoStar Group data shows the 250,000-square-foot property, at the corner of Broadway and 37th Street, has about 22 percent of the space available to lease. Large tenants there include apparel retailer Esprit and executive office firm Jay Suites.

Sources said bids were coming in this week at about $130 million, or about $520 per square foot.

One insider said a buyer could reposition “an A-minus garment building [into] an A-minus office building,” and that rents were “well below” current market pricing.

A lawsuit brought in 2009 by two investors who alleged Sitt Asset Management overcharged for management fees, among other charges, was discontinued in July, court records show.