Harbor Group looks to sell a stake in 55 Broadway

Almost a year and a half after buying the office tower at 55 Broadway, Harbor Group International is looking to sell a 45 percent stake in the property, sources told The Real Deal.The Virginia-based investment firm led by Jordan Slone is the sole owner of the 31-story, 346,000-square-foot Building Near Exchange Place in the Financial District. Harbor Group paid $157 million for it in April 2014, records show.

Office buildings in the neighborhood have sold for roughly $600 per square foot on average, sources said. A 45 percent stake, therefore, would be valued at more than $93 million. If the stake is sold, Harbor Group would retain a majority interest.

The Class A property is 98 percent occupied, with asking rents in the range of $50 per square foot. Floor plates range in size from 11,000 to 17,000 square feet.

Tenants include China-based Bank of Communication Limited and software company Fog Creek Software. In April, shared office space provider Cowork|rs inked a 13-year lease for 30,000 square feet spanning the full second and fourth floors of the building.

In addition to the office component, there is ground-floor retail.

A JLL team led by Scott Latham, Stephen Shapiro and Anthony Ledesma is marketing the stake.

Representatives for Harbor Group and JLL declined to comment.

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Northwind Group agreed in July to buy a 20-story, 250,000-square-foot office building at 40 Exchange Place for $120 million.