Oxford to buy portion of Billionaires’ Row tower for $278M

Oxford Properties Group is buying the rental and commercial portions of World Wide Group and Rose Associates’ Billionaires’ Row tower for nearly $280 million.

Oxford, which just closed on its $700 million purchase of a piece of the St. John’s Terminal site, is in the process of acquiring a leasehold interest in the rental and retail portion of the developers’ SOM-designed building at East 57th Street and Second Avenue, the Commercial Observer reported.

It’s the rental portion of World Wide and Rose’s 252 East 57th Street. Known as Aalto57 – with an address of 1065 Second Avenue – the sale includes 169 rental units and commercial spaces leased to Bank of America and Whole Foods.

The developers control the property under a long-term land lease they signed with the city, so Oxford can’t buy the fee position from them.

Oxford, the real estate investment arm of Toronto-based pension fund OMERS, is buying the leasehold interest for $277.5 million. To close the deal, the company is also seeking between $150 million and $180 million in financing. Oxford is also co-developing the Hudson Yards megaproject with Related Companies.

“The project is really interesting as it marks Oxford’s first true multifamily project with 100 percent ownership interest in the U.S., and its first foray into the multifamily market here,” a source familiar with the deal told the CO. “I think we’re all going to pick up our heads over the next five years and Oxford’s going to have 5,000 units under management.” [CO] – Rich Bockmann