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Soloviev denies effort to sell 9 West 57th

Firm hints it fields calls about the prestigious office tower, though

Soloviev Group chairman Stefan Soloviev and the Solow Building at 9 West 57th Street (Getty, Soloviev Group, King of Hearts, CC BY-SA3.0 - via Wikimedia Commons)
Soloviev Group chairman Stefan Soloviev and the Solow Building at 9 West 57th Street (Getty, Soloviev Group, King of Hearts, CC BY-SA3.0 - via Wikimedia Commons)

The Soloviev Group denied a report about a potential sale of its iconic Manhattan office building at 9 West 57th Street.

Hayden Soloviev, spokesperson for the developer and son of company chairman Stefan Soloviev, told the New York Post that there are “no plans to sell the building.” Last month, The Real Deal reported that Soloviev was finalizing an agreement to sell the prestigious office tower.

It was not immediately clear whether a potential sale fell through or was never in the offing. The chairman’s son told the Post, “The news must’ve been mixed up with the residential sales (being discussed). … There was never a deal.”

Still, the company appears to be open to offers for one of the premier office properties in the city.

“People call us all the time asking us if we want to sell various properties, both in New York and out west,” Hayden Soloviev said in Steve Cuozzo’s column.

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While TRD in October could not confirm the prospective buyer group for the building, two sources had indicated trophy-collecting investor Michael Shvo was part of it. However, a non-Soloviev source told the Post, “If there ever was a group trying to buy 9 West, Shvo wasn’t part of it.”

A deal for the Plaza District property would be one of the biggest of the pandemic era and perhaps one of the largest office deals in history. In July 2016, the 50-story, 1.6-million-square-foot property was appraised at $3.4 billion, more than $2,000 per square foot.

In 1974 the late Sheldon Solow developed the building, which became famous for its SOM-designed sloping facade. Solow helped distinguish the property by reportedly handpicking the companies he deemed suitable for his prized possession. KKR was once headquartered there. Current tenants include Sculptor Capital Management, Apollo Global Management and Chanel.

After taking the mantle from his father, who died in November 2020, Soloviev hasn’t appeared to show much interest in running his father’s real estate empire, sources said. He has been marketing some residential properties while continuing to run a cattle and wheat agricultural business in New Mexico. He has also been buying farms and vineyards on Long Island’s North Fork.

But the chairman appears to be leaning deeper into Manhattan real estate. Soloviev recently entered the state’s casino sweepstakes, planning to apply for a casino license on a site south of the United Nations building in Midtown East.

— Holden Walter-Warner

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Investment SalesManhattan Office MarketSheldon SolowStefan Soloviev