Jones Lang LaSalle
N.J. SURPRISE AT TIMES SQ.
By STEVE CUOZZO
June 20, 2006 -- A dark-horse candidate from New Jersey has emerged as the prospective buyer of the Milstein brothers' famous empty pit at the southeast corner of Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street - Parsippany-based SJP Properties, multiple sources said.
Ever since The Post first reported two weeks ago that Howard and Edward Milstein had decided to sell the precious corner rather than develop it themselves, speculation has been rampant over who would snatch it up.
Although not a household name in city real estate circles, privately held SJP owns or manages 12 million square feet of office space in the metropolitan area - mostly in northern New Jersey and on the Jersey waterfront. Two years ago it also launched a residential division.
Last January, SJP announced plans for a 344,000-square-foot office project in Basking Ridge, N.J., in conjunction with J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
SJP President Steven J. Pozycki, the company's reps at Beckerman Public Relations, CB Richard Ellis Stephen B. Siegel - said to be the sale broker - and Milstein's rep, George Arzt, all declined to comment.
Sources said SJP, which has partnered with Prudential, has signed a "hard" contract to buy the 42nd Street site from the Milsteins, who in early 2001 paid a mere $77.7 million to buy out other Milstein family members for full control of the land, then valued at $111 million.
If all goes well, the deal could close in about three months. Sources speculate that SJP will build a project combining commercial and residential uses.
Terms were not available.
But given the market for similar Midtown properties, the 42nd Street lot - across the street from the New York Times' new headquarters tower - could top the 2001 price tag by three to five times.
"Whoever buys the site will be subject to the same agreement we're drawing up with the Milsteins" regarding the use of the site, said Empire State Development Corp. Chairman Charles Gargano, who has been trying to have the corner developed for years.
That includes "per diem penalties if they don't start work within 12 months," Gargano said.
But he welcomed the prospective sale to a company that would actually follow through on a promise to build. "We're pleased it's finally, finally getting done," Gargano said.
steve.cuozzo@nypost.com
N.J. SURPRISE AT TIMES SQ.
By STEVE CUOZZO
June 20, 2006 -- A dark-horse candidate from New Jersey has emerged as the prospective buyer of the Milstein brothers' famous empty pit at the southeast corner of Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street - Parsippany-based SJP Properties, multiple sources said.
Ever since The Post first reported two weeks ago that Howard and Edward Milstein had decided to sell the precious corner rather than develop it themselves, speculation has been rampant over who would snatch it up.
Although not a household name in city real estate circles, privately held SJP owns or manages 12 million square feet of office space in the metropolitan area - mostly in northern New Jersey and on the Jersey waterfront. Two years ago it also launched a residential division.
Last January, SJP announced plans for a 344,000-square-foot office project in Basking Ridge, N.J., in conjunction with J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
SJP President Steven J. Pozycki, the company's reps at Beckerman Public Relations, CB Richard Ellis Stephen B. Siegel - said to be the sale broker - and Milstein's rep, George Arzt, all declined to comment.
Sources said SJP, which has partnered with Prudential, has signed a "hard" contract to buy the 42nd Street site from the Milsteins, who in early 2001 paid a mere $77.7 million to buy out other Milstein family members for full control of the land, then valued at $111 million.
If all goes well, the deal could close in about three months. Sources speculate that SJP will build a project combining commercial and residential uses.
Terms were not available.
But given the market for similar Midtown properties, the 42nd Street lot - across the street from the New York Times' new headquarters tower - could top the 2001 price tag by three to five times.
"Whoever buys the site will be subject to the same agreement we're drawing up with the Milsteins" regarding the use of the site, said Empire State Development Corp. Chairman Charles Gargano, who has been trying to have the corner developed for years.
That includes "per diem penalties if they don't start work within 12 months," Gargano said.
But he welcomed the prospective sale to a company that would actually follow through on a promise to build. "We're pleased it's finally, finally getting done," Gargano said.
steve.cuozzo@nypost.com
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 9:46 AM
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