New York, NY – October 1, 2012 – SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) announced today that it has acquired 635 Sixth Avenue and 641 Sixth Avenue for a total of $173.0 million, or $648 per square foot from Atlas Capital Group, LLC.
The two adjoining properties, built in 1902 originally as a contiguous department store along Sixth Avenue, span the full block between 19th and 20th Streets – the core of the thriving Midtown South submarket. 635 Sixth Avenue is a 104,000 square foot building that was recently vacated in its entirety by Apex Technical School. 641 Sixth Avenue, is a 163,000 square foot, fully renovated, multi-tenanted office building that houses leading technology firms including Google and Infor. Atlas acquired 641 Sixth Avenue in 2007 and had recently agreed to purchase 635 Sixth Avenue to complete the full block front assemblage. The buildings have a combined 47,000 square feet of prime retail space contained within 184 linear feet of frontage along the vibrant lower Sixth Avenue retail corridor. Office occupancy at 641 Sixth Avenue is 100% and the 635 Sixth Avenue office space will be redeveloped with a significant capital infusion in order to reposition it for high quality tenancy in the Midtown South market.
“First the acquisition of 304 Park Avenue South and now the addition of these two properties are classic SL Green-type investments – sourcing off-market transactions, fully understanding their complexities, underwriting their potential and then executing,” stated Andrew Mathias, President of SL Green. “This is a great example of how we utilize our extensive relationships and know-how to capitalize on opportunities.”
Isaac Zion, co-Chief Investment Officer added “One of our stated goals in 2012 was to expand our presence in Midtown South, the hottest office submarket in New York with a current vacancy rate below five percent, and this latest transaction further demonstrates our continuing belief in the strength and vitality of the expanding creative, media, and technology sectors.”
Rob Martin from Jones Lang LaSalle was the sole advisor on this transaction.
About SL Green:
SL Green Realty Corp., New York City’s largest office landlord, is the only fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. As of June 30, 2012, SL Green owned interests in 71 Manhattan properties totaling more than 39.2 million square feet. This included ownership interests in 27.4 million square feet of commercial properties and debt and preferred equity investments secured by 11.8 million square feet of properties. SL Green also owns 385 residential units in Manhattan encompassing approximately 0.5 million square feet. In addition to its Manhattan investments, SL Green holds ownership interests in 32 suburban assets totaling 6.9 million square feet in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester County, Connecticut and New Jersey, along with four development properties in the suburbs encompassing approximately 0.5 million square feet.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions thereof. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including such matters as future capital expenditures, dividends and acquisitions (including the amount and nature thereof), development trends of the real estate industry and the Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester County, Connecticut, Long Island and New Jersey office markets, business strategies, expansion and growth of our operations and other similar matters, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially, and we caution you not to place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend,” “project,” “continue,” or the negative of these words, or other similar words or terms.
Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made by us. These risks and uncertainties include the effect of the credit crisis on general economic, business and financial conditions, and on the New York metropolitan real estate market in particular; dependence upon certain geographic markets; risks of real estate acquisitions, dispositions and developments, including the cost of construction delays and cost overruns; risks relating to structured finance investments; availability and creditworthiness of prospective tenants and borrowers; bankruptcy or insolvency of a major tenant or a significant number of smaller tenants; adverse changes in the real estate markets, including reduced demand for office space, increasing vacancy, and increasing availability of sublease space; availability of capital (debt and equity); unanticipated increases in financing and other costs, including a rise in interest rates; our ability to comply with financial covenants in our debt instruments; our ability to maintain our status as a REIT; risks of investing through joint venture structures, including the fulfillment by our partners of their financial obligations; the continuing threat of terrorist attacks, in particular in the New York metropolitan area and on our tenants; our ability to obtain adequate insurance coverage at a reasonable cost and the potential for losses in excess of our insurance coverage, including as a result of environmental contamination; and legislative, regulatory and/or safety requirements adversely affecting REITs and the real estate business, including costs of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act and other similar laws and regulations.
Other factors and risks to our business, many of which are beyond our control, are described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.
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Contact:
Andrew Mathias
President
-or-
Heidi Gillette
Director, Investor Relations
212.594.2700