Alexandria Real Estate Equities, which expanded its footprint in New York City earlier this year with the purchase of Pfizer’s headquarters in Manhattan, is bringing one of its life-science centers to Long Island City.
The California-based real estate investment trust bought The Bindery building at 30-02 48th Avenue from a partnership led by Brickman Real Estate for $75 million, sources told The Real Deal.
The purchase of the 175,000-square-foot property closed yesterday at a value of $430 per square foot. Representatives for Alexandria and Brickman could not be immediately reached for comment.
A Cushman & Wakefield team led by Josh King, Adam Spies and Doug Harmon represented Brickman in the sale. The brokers were unavailable for comment.
From left: Josh King, Adam Spies and Doug Harmon
Alexandria specializes in developing offices and lab space for science and technology tenants, a high-growth industry that is filling millions of square feet in places like Boston, and is in its nascent stages here in New York.
The developer opened its Alexandria Center for Life Science biotech incubator in Midtown East in 2010, and plans to convert the Bindery building for similar uses.
The three-story former warehouse, dating back to 1926, sits just a few steps away from other successful industrial-to-office conversions such as the 1 million-square-foot Factory building that Atlas Capital Group recapitalized earlier this year at a value of $400 million – or $400 per square foot – and The Falchi building, which Savanna Real Estate bought in 2016 for $257.5 million – or just shy of $400 per square foot.
Fifth Avenue-based Brickman bought The Bindery building in 2013 for $21 million, and in 2016 the investment firm brought in hedge funder Daniel Loeb’s Third Point Management in as a partner to buy a 90 percent stake in the property for just over $24 million. The Cushman brokers negotiated that deal while at Eastdil Secured.
The investors pumped more than $20 million into upgrading the property.
Alexandria, meanwhile, bought Pfizer’s headquarters at 219 East 42nd Street earlier this year for $360 million with investor David Werner, a deal in which the Cushman team negotiated the sale.
The owners plan to convert the property for life-science tenants in five years when Pfizer vacates the building and relocates to Hudson Yards.
Hiten Samtani contributed reporting.