Kaufmans looks to sell half-empty Third Ave office tower

The Kaufmans are looking to sell a half-empty office building on Third Avenue.

The family’s Sage Realty put the 40-story tower at 767 Third Avenue up for sale with Eastdil Secured, which has told potential buyers that the pricing guidance is around $100 million.

The 1980s-era building had long enjoyed healthy occupancy, but in 2019 Sage began clearing out a large portion of the property to start on a $30 million renovation focused on a lobby and a seventh-floor amenity center.

The timing was unfortunate. When the renovation was completed last summer the leasing market was struggling. The building is now about 50 percent occupied.

A new owner could come in and lease up the vacant space or could consider a conversion to apartments. The building sits a block north of SL Green Realty’s 750 Third Avenue, which the REIT plans to convert to residential.

A representative for Sage declined to comment.

The Kaufman family built 767 Third Avenue in 1981, and this is the first time they have offered it for sale. Jonathan Kaufman Iger, grandson of company founder William Kaufman, oversees the building through the company’s leasing and property management arm, Sage Realty.

Third Avenue, long a second-tier office market for tenants seeking discounted space, has been hit particularly hard by the move to hybrid work. Vacancy along the corridor is around 20 percent, while other Midtown stretches such as Sixth and Park avenues are in the low teens.

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