Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer is setting his sights on Manhattan’s office market.
Ofer’s Quantum Pacific acquired 767 Third Avenue in Midtown East for $88 million, the Commercial Observer reported. The acquisition marks his holding company’s first commercial acquisition in the borough.
The seller is the Kaufman family’s Sage Realty, which put the building up for sale in the spring. The 40-story property fell on hard times after Sage cleared out much of it in 2019 for a $30 million renovation, only for the pandemic to knock out its leases shortly thereafter.
As of May, the building is roughly 50 percent occupied.
Eastdil Secured’s Gary Phillips and Will Silverman negotiated the deal, which has not yet closed. Financing is being arranged for the transaction behind the scenes.
The Kaufmans built the property in 1981, but had never listed it for sale prior to the spring. The property sits on an office corridor that has been hit hard by hybrid work, boasting vacancy rates higher than other parts of Midtown.
Ofer’s plans for the building are unclear and his company did not return a request for comment from the Observer. The property is not far from a notable conversion being undertaken by SL Green Realty on Third Avenue.
Ofer is the brother of Eyal Ofer, whose Global Holdings has played a role in New York’s real estate scene. Last year, Global Holdings put the 190-room Mondrian Park Avenue hotel in Nomad up for sale, seeking more than $150 million in a quick flip. The company has not secured a buyer for the property.
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Sage’s other Manhattan office buildings include 747 Third Avenue, 777 Third Avenue, 437 Madison Avenue, 77 Water Street and 2 Gansevoort Street.
Jonathan Kaufman Iger, grandson of company founder William Kaufman, oversees the Kaufman Organization; Sage is the firm’s property management arm.