Five floors of Madison Avenue offices nets $60.8M for the New York Public Library

The New York Public Library has sold five floors of a Madison Avenue building for $60.8 million, according to the New York Post. The third through seventh floors of the Science, Industry and Business Library at 188 Madison Avenue near East 34th Street was purchased by the Church Pension Group, which will use the space as its headquarters. The space comprises 140,000 square feet and only the fifth floor is currently occupied.

CPG, which handles investments for employees and clergy of the Episcopal Church, plans to sublease its existing offices at 437 and 445 Fifth Avenue upon moving into the Madison Avenue property. The library acquired the property, which was formerly a B. Altman department store, in 1995.

The sale is part of the libary’s four-year-old initiative to sell real estate and raise money for its $1 billion master renovation plan. It previously sold the Donnell Library, which Starwood Capital plans to develop into a Baccarat Hotel. [Post]