By John Yeser

SL Green has sold the office building at 590 Fifth Avenue.

As reported by the Real Deal, SL Green, the real estate investment trust which specializes in office buildings and shopping centers in New York City, sold the Midtown building for $103 million. Led by CEO Marc Hollida, the firm known as Manhattan’s largest office landlord made the announcement on Thursday. The deal values the building at $1,000 per square foot. “Closing on the sale of 590 Fifth Avenue at a price of $1,000 per square foot demonstrates the continued demand for well-located New York City office and retail properties,” said Harrison Sitomer, Senior Vice President of SL Green. “This profitable transaction is the latest step in the successful execution of our 2021 business plan as we remain on track to meet or exceed our stated goals for the year.”

Located in the Diamond District, between 48th and 47th street, the 19-story office and retail building boasts 103,000 square feet of space. Built in 1987, suites in the building range between 1,700 to 5,600 square feet. The building’s impressive glass lobby features high ceilings, wood floors, and a luxury shopping center on the first floor.

SL Green has only owned the building for a year. The landlord gained control of the building in October 2020 with a UCC foreclosure. Previously, the building had been owned by Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities. They had unsuccessfully tried to reposition the building’s retail as a flagship retail opportunity. In August 2020, SL Green proceeded to foreclose on the property after the developer defaulted on a $25 million mezzanine note. The transfer of the property made the landlord responsible to take over payments on the building’s $83 million senior mortgage. As of September 2021, SL Green held interests in 76 buildings, boasting a total of 35.3 million square feet. This includes ownership interests in 27.2 million square feet of Manhattan buildings and 7.3 million square feet securing debt and preferred equity investments.

In the new sale, Albert Sultan and Morris Sabbagh of Kassin Sabbagh Realty brokered the transaction on behalf of the buyer. As per Crain’s, the purchaser is the Hematian family, who is behind Effy Jewelry Corporation, the renowned diamond ring designer.