David Werner Buying One Dag Hammarskjöld From Rockpoint

David Werner is buying another office property at a bargain basement price.

The thrifty investor is in contract to buy the 50-story One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza tower for $270 million, The Real Deal has learned. The deal is expected to close early next year.

That’s about half of the $566 million price tag that seller Rockpoint Group paid for the Midtown East office tower in 2019, and adds to the list of deeply discounted office buildings that Werner’s snapped up in recent years.

That includes the Hudson Yards-area office building at 440 Ninth Avenue he bought in August for $105 million (sellers Taconic Investment Partners and Nuveen Real Estate $269 million in 2018), the building at 205 East 42nd Street he and 601W Companies bought last month for about $300 per square foot and the tower at 675 Third Avenue he and Metro Loft Management bought in April for $100 million.

A representative for Werner declined to comment, and a spokesperson for Rockpoint did not immediately respond to a request. A Newmark team led by Adam Spies and Adam Doneger negotiated the sale.

Built in 1972, the property also known as One Dag stands at 885 Second Avenue near the United Nations Headquarters and has long been home to various consulates and permanent missions.

The 870,000-square-foot building is about 72 percent occupied, with Memorial Sloan Kettering, the United Nations and the Republic of Germany counting as its largest tenants.

“One Dag is strategically positioned among several iconic Class A office assets boasting an average occupancy of 90 percent in the Midtown East market,” reads a marketing memo from Newmark, which notes the building recently received more than $20 million in capital improvements.

Similar buildings in the area get average rents ranging from $80 to $90 per square foot, according to Newmark, which positions One Dag as “a compelling relative discount in Midtown East.”

Boston-based Rockpoint Group financed its 2019 purchase of the building with a $430 million loan from Wells Fargo and Brookfield.

The purchase price then worked out to about $650 per square foot. Werner’s deal pencils to roughly $310 per square foot.

Werner, known for striking when property prices are low as well as for his quirky dealmaking style and penchant for flipping deals, has been converting some of his discounted office properties into residential apartments, and keeping others as commercial buildings.

His current buying spree started in about 2022, and he’s since been one of the busiest investors in Manhattan.