Columbia Property Trust Nabs Buyer for 799 Broadway

Columbia Property Trust managed to sell its distressed office building in Greenwich Village, but for less than what it owed on the two-year-old property.

Savanna swooped in to acquire 799 Broadway for $255 million, Bloomberg reported. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, which lent $270 million to refinance the property in 2022, administered the all-cash deal for the building.

Pimco’s Columbia Property Trust and Cannon Hill Capital Partners put the property on the market in August, The Real Deal reported at the time. They were seeking at least $250 million for the 12-story, 178,000-square-foot property. The deal that they landed comes down to about $1,433 per square foot.

A spokesperson for the lender called it a “great outcome.” The sellers did not immediately comment to Bloomberg. The financing behind the deal has not been disclosed, though Blackstone reportedly offered pre-arranged financing packages to prospective buyers.

Eastdil Secured’s Gary Phillips and Will Silverman arranged the transaction.

Despite being a new, Class A building — the kind of office most in demand post-Covid — the owners couldn’t fill 799 Broadway quickly enough to keep up on debt payments. The building is 71 percent leased. Bain Capital Ventures and Tidal are among its tenants.

From the end of 2021 through September, office values in New York fell by 35 percent, according to MSCI, prompting more distress sales as landlords struggle to cover costs.

Savanna is run by Chris Schlank and Nick Bienstock. Its purchase is intriguing, considering its own struggles with a slew of office buildings it bought in the years leading up to the pandemic.

An overdue loan recently led Wells Fargo to file a preforeclosure suit against Savanna at 521 Fifth Avenue, a 460,000-square-foot property the bank wants to sell. Savanna is allegedly past due on the $242 million mortgage.

Last June, Savanna transferred a 40 percent stake in 110 William Street to its partner. A couple of months ago, the office investor agreed to sell 360 Lexington Avenue to Joshua Zamir’s Capstone Equities and AmTrust RE for $65 million, approximately a third of what Savanna paid for the 270,000-square-foot office and retail building in 2019.

— Holden Walter-Warner