Shubert invested air rights proceeds in suburban KFCs

The Shubert Organization, one of the biggest landlords on Broadway, has used the proceeds from the sale of the air rights above its landmarked theaters to buy out-of-state bank branches and fast food chains.

In the past seven years, the Shubert Organization has made roughly $50 million from the sale of development rights above its 17 theaters, according to Deadline. Last May, the Shuberts sold the rights above the Majestic Theatre for $17.1 million to Algin Management, the developers of a new residential building at the former location of the Roseland Ballroom.

The purchases are possible due to a quirk in the federal tax code, Deadline reported.

The organization owns a Chase Bank branch and a Bank of America branch in Illinois, as well as banks in Massachusetts and Maryland. Shubert also owns a McDonald’s and a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Atlanta.

Shubert also made some purchases in town last year. In 2014, the organization paid $2.6 million for off-Broadway theater complex New World Stages and and $11.3 million for a warehouse building at 48th Street and Eleventh Avenue. [Deadline via Capital NY] — Claire Moses