11-04-2013 09:18 PM

Big piece of Worldwide Plaza goes for $220 million


Worldwide Plaza, foreground right, is 91 percent leased. tenants include Nomura Holding America, Inc. and law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.




American Realty Capital New York Recovery REIT Inc., or NYRR, said it has bought a 48.9 percent stake in Worldwide Plaza in Midtown Manhattan for $220.05 million.
NYRR bought the stake in Worldwide Plaza from WWP Sponsor LLC, which retained the remaining 51.1 percent equity interest. WWP Sponsor LLC is controlled by a joint venture consisting of George Comfort & Sons Inc., RCG Longview and DRA Advisors LLC.
Worldwide Plaza, on Eighth Ave., between 49th and 50th Streets, was built in 1989 and is a 49-story office building with roughly 1.8 million rentable square feet of office space, 30,000 square feet of retail space, a five-stage off-Broadway theater, a 38,000 square foot fitness center and a garage with 475 parking spaces.
The building is 91 percent leased to tenants including Nomura Holding America, Inc., the American subsidiary of Nomura Holdings Inc. (NYSE: NMR), and law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.
NYRR Chief Investment Officer Michael A. Happel said in a statement Worldwide Plaza features potential additional leasing opportunities and boosted the firm’s portfolio value to more than $2.1 billion, including 23 Manhattan properties.



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