Cove Property, Baupost to pay $330M for 441 Ninth Ave.

Insurance firm EmblemHealth to vacate Far West Side office building within a year

Kevin Hoo and 441 Ninth Avenue on the Far West Side
Kevin Hoo and 441 Ninth Avenue on the Far West Side

Kevin Hoo’s Cove Property Group and hedge fund the Baupost Group are in contract to buy the office building at 441 Ninth Avenue on Manhattan’s Far West Side for $330 million.

The seller, insurance firm EmblemHealth, currently occupies the entire 423,000-square-foot building but is set to move out within a year. CBRE [TRDataCustom] represented the seller, Real Estate Alert reported.

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EmblemHealth’s predecessor Group Health bought the former warehouse, located between West 34th and 35th streets, in 1994 for $30.7 million. The property is across the street from Brookfield’s Manhattan West development and a block away from Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group’s Hudson Yards.

The deal marks the second high-profile acquisition for Cove Property, a new real estate investment firm founded by Savanna alum Kevin Hoo. In March, the firm partnered with Bentall Kennedy to buy Kushner Companies and CIM Group’s 2 Rector Street for $225 million.  [Real Estate Alert]Konrad Putzier