Japanese real estate investment firm Jowa Holdings purchased two Madison Square Park office buildings for $210 million — representing nearly a 100 percent return on a two-year investment for the sellers.
A partnership between Brickman Real Estate and DivcoWest paid roughly $115 million for 24-28 West 25th Street and 40 West 25th Street two years ago. Both buildings are 12 stories tall, roughly 130,000 square feet each and sit on the north side of Madison Square Park.
Jowa should have a substantial retail opportunity at 40 West 25th Street, where an antique shop currently holds the lease for five more years. The area’s shopping and dining scene has flourished in recent years with the addition of Eataly at 200 Fifth Avenue.
Brickman and DivcoWest were represented by an Eastdil Secured team led by brokers Doug Harmon, Kevin Donner and Adam Spies.
Jowa retained Brickman to operate the buildings and handle the leasing. The firm’s only other NYC property is an office building at 440 Ninth Avenue, which it purchased in 2013 for just over $210 million. [Crain’s] — Tess Hofmann