The Blackstone Group has put a 26-story Fifth Avenue tower on the market. The plan to sell 717 Fifth Avenue had been in the works for several months, but the private equity giant had to wait to officially begin marketing the property until retail real estate tycoon Jeff Sutton — who owns the retail condominiums in the building – passed on his right of first offer.
CBRE Group duo Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan are handling the sale of the 468,000-square-foot building, the New York Post reported. Sutton had consolidated his stake last year by buying most of SL Green Realty’s stake in the retail condo, leading to a reevaluation of the retail at $619 million – more than $5,000 per square foot.
The office floors should sell for more than $1,000 per square foot, sources told the Post, and there is the possibility of a hotel or residential conversion, given that luxury apartments in the neighborhood are going for about $5,000 per square foot.
Blackstone declined to comment to the Post, and the newspaper could not immediately reach the brokers or Sutton for comment.
Blackstone recently took the Hilton hotel chain public, signifying a remarkable turnaround of the world’s largest hotel chain. [NYP, 1st item] – Hiten Samtani