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By: Benyamin Davidsons
One of New York City’s family-run real estate firms has purchased an office tower on Billionaires Row, to add to its rapidly expanding portfolio. As reported by Crain’s NY, in late November, Zar Property New York became the new owner of 119 W. 57th Street – a 16-story building which sits between Sixth and Seventh avenues. The firm reportedly paid $27 million for the acquisition. The company, which is based in Midtown South, sees the tower as “a prime opportunity for long-term growth,” said Company Principal David Zar. The firm plans to continue using the roughly 160,000-square-foot building as an office rental.
The prewar office building, first opened in 1925, was constructed by the iconic architect Emery Roth. It is centrally located in The Plaza District, which boasts five-star hotels including the Plaza Hotel as well as top retail destinations including Bergdorf Goodman, Saks, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany, just to name a few. Billionaires Row is best known for its luxury residential skyscrapers, but this stretch of West 57th Street also features a handful of commercial buildings. These office towers include the trophy tower at 125 W. 57th St., developed by Alchemy-ABR Investment Partners—featuring private terraces, soaring height ceilings with oversized windows, and an amenity floor and with a shared 4,300 square foot terrace. There’s also the 68-story mixed-use Metropolitan Tower at 142 W. 57th St., where the coworking firm International Workplace Group recently signed a lease taking on close to 100,000 square feet of space.
The tower at 119 W. 57th St. is also close to Rockefeller Plaza, just steps from Central Park, and right across the street from Carnegie Hall. The building originally housed notable tenants including Chas. H. Hansen Music Corp, whose productions were performed by iconic artists including The Beatles, Elton John to Hank Williams, Jr. The building has undergone renovations of its lobby in 2015 and of its restrooms in 2018.
Per Crain’s, the office tower is currently 98% leased, with asking rents of about $48 per square foot, as per commercial real estate database CoStar. The building was sold to Zar Property by a small, family-run firm named Musart Associates, which had owned the building since at least 1984, as per property records and a source familiar with the transaction. A representative for Musart could not immediately be reached for comment by Crain’s.
Zar Property, run by the namesake Zar family, boasts a 20-year track record of successful acquisitions and management, with its focus on Manhattan residential, commercial and retail properties. The company website states that it aims to “rapidly expand” its real estate portfolio. The firm has proved this true with a busy year, including several other purchases. In August, the company had purchased the office building at 37 E. 18th St., also for roughly $27 million.
In February, it purchased a commercial condo at 30 W. 61st St. for around $15.2 million, per city records. Per Crain’s, the company was able to secure a $36 million loan from JP Morgan Chase, which will go towards the West 57th Street building, as well as its East 18th Street purchase. The company’s other properties include the 13-story building at 250 W 54th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Ave.
