The Midtown office tower that inspired the 1968 hit song “Mony Mony” has been sold for “amount” far less than what its previous owner paid.
According to the city, Yellowstone Real Estate paid just $185 million to buy the remaining debt of the nearly empty office building, now simply known as 1740 Broadway It is said that the company spent a whopping $420 million on the purchase price (a haircut from the amount it was sold for 10 years ago). Treasury records.
Blackstone purchased it from Vornado in 2014 for $605 million. That equates to nearly $1,000 per square foot for the 621,000-square-foot 1950s-vintage Deco-style tower between West 55th and 56th Streets.
The $308 million loan on the property was placed into special maintenance in 2022.
The fire sale prices reflect a crisis in the commercial real estate investment sale market, where some office values have fallen by up to 50%.
But the discount for 1740 Broadway was perhaps the toughest ever for the aging but still surviving and recently renovated midtown tower.
Insiders are divided on how bad a price this low bodes for future sales.
CBRE Vice Chairman Stephen B. Siegel told the Post that Blackstone’s $605 million purchase price in 2014 was at a time when real estate values were at an all-time high, with several of Manhattan’s trophy buildings He said it simply reflected the atmosphere at the time, when the deal was valued at more than $2 billion.
“Blackstone had good plans for it, but things didn’t work out in their favor,” said Siegel, who was not involved in the 1740 Broadway deal.
Faced with the exit of Victoria’s Secret owner L. Brands and the law firm Davis + Gilbert, leaving much of the tower vacant, Blackstone spent tens of millions of dollars to modernize the 1740. The property has expanded to include a stunning new lobby, tenant amenities, and the opening of a popular new restaurant, Iris.
But Blackstone’s re-lease efforts fell through due to the pandemic.
The private equity firm handed back the keys in 2022.
One major dealmaker said at the time that Blackstone’s “purchase price was bananas for an old West 50s building that needed a lot of work.”
The official added: “They wanted $80 per square foot for the secondary location. The terms of the loan did not leave them any room to ask for a reduction.”
The city of Yellowstone, led by Isaac Herra, is considering converting it into housing, sources told the Commercial Observer.
“The price reflects the value in that context,” Woody Heller, a founding partner at Blanton Realty and a longtime investment sales specialist, told the Post.
Heller cited “strong housing demand and the building’s proximity to Central Park” as driving factors for the conversion plan.
Blackstone representative he told Commercial Observer. The 1740 loss was a “rare occurrence” that did not impact the $600 billion portfolio.
Yellowstone and Blackstone did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
The tower’s storied legacy includes inspiring the band Tommy James & the Shondells when they were struggling to come up with catchy titles for their songs. The group was staying nearby when James spotted the giant initials “MONY” that had once been illuminated in red near the top of the tower.
“As I was about to throw in the towel, I went out onto the terrace and looked up and saw the Mutual of New York building,” he later explained.
“I said, ‘That’s for sure!’ … It’s as if God Himself said, ‘Here’s the title.’ ”
Vornado replaced the MONY sign in 2007 with one that simply read “1740.”
