Empire State Realty Trust Continues Williamsburg Spree

Empire State Realty Trust’s takeover of Williamsburg appears unceasing.

The real estate investment trust purchased a commercial condo at 127 Kent Avenue last week for $46 million. The acquisition is just the latest in a spree of deals in the Brooklyn neighborhood for Tony Malkin’s firm, the Commercial Observer reported.

The momentum for ESRT’s activity in the neighborhood appeared to ramp up in 2024. That year, the company revealed plans to buy two retail locations on the North Sixth Street shopping corridor for a combined $195 million; it already owned 77 North Sixth Street and 157-159 Wythe Avenue at that point.

Properties acquired in the neighborhood in recent years include 81-91 North Sixth Street, 134 North Sixth Street, 124 and 128 North Sixth Street, 100-104 North Sixth Street, 88-90 North Sixth Street and 169 Wythe Avenue.

The latest acquisition at 127 Kent was for a new commercial condo at the base of the building; Joyland Group and Prospect Developers were the sellers of the unit, which spans more than 21,400 square feet, working out to roughly $2,100 per square foot.

JLL’s Ethan Stanton and Michael Mazzara brokered the deal.

Not included in the sale was the residential portion of the property, Brooklyn’s top-selling building last quarter. The 43-unit development at 127 Kent, called the Sixth, already put more than half of its units into contract, including a pair of penthouses asking over $6 million. A Corcoran Group team led by Deborah Rieders launched sales in January.

Malkin’s company is on the selling side of a significant transaction this week, too. Igal Namdar’s Namdar Realty Group is in contract to buy the 540,000-square-foot office building at 250 West 57th Street from ESRT for approximately $280 million.

The purchase price is significantly lower than the $350 million ESRT had been asking for the property earlier this year.

The 26-story building is 84 percent leased; T.J. Maxx is anchoring the retail portion under a lease running through 2041.

— Holden Walter-Warner