General Growth Properties, America's second largest mall owning company is reportedly eyeing an exclusive commercial property in the Manhattan area of New York City.
General Growth has entered into a partnership with commercial real estate firm, Brookfield Office Properties, to bid for 650 Madison Avenue, a 27-story building located on Madison Avenue between 59 and 60 Streets, reprots Reuters. The property is one of the most sought-after office buildings of the area.
The building has attracted other bidders like Vornado Realty Trust too. Sources say that bids for the the building could cross $1.3 million. The deal is being brokered by Eastdil Secured and the decision on the bid is expected to be out by next week, reports Chicago Tribune.
If General Growth manages to acquire the property, it will open new commercial real estate avenues for the company in urban markets. Experts have called General Growth's bidding decision, a 'smart move'.
"It's a prime space. This is a great way to establish themselves as serious players. The future for retail is in urban markets," Joanne Podell, vice chair and broker at Cushman and Wakefield said to Reuters.
While General Growth is looking for some prime commercial space in the heart of New York, it also recently sold its stake in the famous Grand Canal Shoppes Mall at the Palazzo in Las Vegas for $410 million.
Currently, it has around 143 properties spread across 42 states including the world's largest open air mall, the Ala Moana Center in Hawaii.
General Growth sold 50 percent of the stake to TIAA-CREF, a national financial services organization for the aforementioned price, thus entering into a partnership deal. The partnership is limited to the retail portions only. TIAA-CREF is basically a financial services firm that is looking to expand its investments in real estate. For now, it has around $33 billion in private real estate investments in America, Western Europe and Canada.
