New York REIT, which is liquidating its assets, has sold 50 Varick Street for $135 million or $900 per s/f.
The property, an eight-story office tower in Tribeca, used to be a Verizon substation before being converted into an outpost for London-based Spring Studios, which has hosted events such as the TriBeCa Film Festival and New York Fashion Week.
In 2013, New York REIT acquired the property from Thor Equities’ Joseph Sitt for $90 million.
According to New York REIT, the property is part of the collateral for a $760 million loan from Credit Suisse.
The funds from that loan have been earmarked for repaying debt, funding the liquidation and buying George Comfort & Sons’ 49.9 percent stake in One Worldwide Plaza.
New York REIT exercised its option to acquire the One Worldwide Plaza interest last June.
Part of the proceeds from the 50 Varick sale would be used to repay a $78.1 million mortgage on the property. The firm will make $49.1 million from the transaction.
New York REIT first announced plans to liquidate after its failed merger with JBG Companies.
The proposed sale was opposed by activist investors such as Michael Ashner and Steve Witkoff.
The pair called for the board’s ouster and described the merger as an “unmitigated disaster.”
JBG eventually merged with Vornado Realty Trust’s Washington, DC unit in a deal valued at $8.4 billion. The merged firms are now known as JBG Smith.
Italian firm Est4te Four is the buyer in the transaction, according to a report from the Real Deal. The company previously owned the property. It sold the building to Sitt for $83 million in 2013, the New York Post previously reported.
A Cushman & Wakefield team composed of Adam Spies, Doug Harmon, Kevin Donner and Adam Doneger represented New York REIT in the deal.
