RXR Realty has entered into collaboration with American Landmark Properties to acquire a 75-year lease of a 650,000-square-foot office building located on 470 Vanderbilt Avenue in Fort Greene, close to Barclays Center, Brooklyn, for a little less than $200 million.
According to a report in CrainsNewYork.com, this is one of the largest acquisitions in the outer boroughs in recent times and yet another testament to Brooklyn's growing popularity.
"470 Vanderbilt is well positioned to take advantage of the amazing development activity that is occurring all around the building (a former warehouse)," RXR Realty Chief Executive Scott Rechler said, according to the site.
This former warehouse lies across the street from Atlantic Yards - an under-construction multi-billion dollar residential complex set to house thousands soon.
This 10-story estate is mostly under lease and was purchased by GFI Development for less than $50 million, although the firm went on to spend an additional $70 million for renovations.
In 2011, the owner of 470 Vanderbilt leased six floors of the mammoth building, a total floor area of 400,000 square feet, to the Human Resources Administration in Brooklyn for 20 years. In 2013, GFI Development sold the leasehold to American Landmark Properties, the owner of Willis Tower in Chicago. The new deal is said to be a completion of the sale of the leasehold.
In addition to RXR Realty, several other major real estate owners have relocated to the boroughs, particularly Brooklyn. Last year, Jamestown, an investment firm with headquarters in Atlanta, acquired a major stake in the Industrial City, including a 6 million-square-foot office and a warehouse complex in Sunset Park.
All told, RXR Realty says it plans on pumping a whopping $1 billion into New York City real estate outside Manhattan.
