Investors including Josh Rahmani and Ebi Khalili’s Empire Capital have closed on their $320 million purchase of the 40-story office tower at 1330 Sixth Avenue from RXR Realty and Blackstone — by far the largest acquisition to date for the pair of former commercial brokers.
The buyer group, which sources say also includes Hakimian Capital, CH Capital Group, Creed Equities and Nassimi Realty, scored a $215 million loan from Deutsche Bank to acquire the property, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The sale, which went into contract in July, comes as large commercial deals have become difficult to finance due to rising interest rates and a looming recession fueling uncertainty in the economy. Many banks have pulled back on commercial real estate, particularly office buildings as values in the sector have fallen.
The 525,000-square-foot Midtown tower’s new owners are betting that they’ve snagged the property at a bargain. Harry Macklowe bought the property, then known as the Financial Times building, for $498 million in 2006 before losing it to Otera Capital in a foreclosure auction during the financial crisis.
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