A 348,000-square-foot Lake Success property sold for $62 million in early December, according to multiple reports.
The Birch Group, a private investor group based in Nanuet, New York, reportedly acquired the property at 1979 Marcus Ave. in Lake Success from Willett Companies and Lincoln Equity Group. Representatives Adam Spies, David Bernhaut, Josh Kind, Andy Merin and Gary Gabriel from the commercial real estate company Cushman & Wakefield brokered the deal, according to reports.
Efforts to reach officials from Willet Companies, Lincoln Equity Group and Birch Group for comment on the transaction were unavailing. Financing details on the transaction were not immediately available.
The property, constructed in 1989, which consists of 90,000-square-feet floorplates, eight elevators, a health club, a café, surfaced and structured parking, and a FedEx office, was last traded 15 years ago, according to a Commercial Property Executive report. In that transaction, according to the report, the property was sold to Lincoln by Broadway Partners on Jan. 7, 2005, for $53.5 million.
The property’s current tenants include the Woodland Group, an international transportation and supply chain specialist company, the Center for Learning and Innovation, a subsidiary organization that trains Northwell Health employees, Executive Enterprise, a public relations firm, and IPRO, a nonprofit healthcare organization that works with government agencies, according to reports.
According to the Commercial Observer, sources indicated that the coronavirus pandemic played a part in the decision for the Birch Group to purchase the property, citing suburban locations securing more profitable yields for investors.
“Cap rates are higher, financing is relatively inexpensive,” one source told Commercial Observer. “You’re starting to see some demand from tenants who want to have an office both in the city and outside of the city. That’s feeding leasing activity.”
