Manhattan's 15 Little West 12 Office Building Sells for $70 Million

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New York-based Taconic Investment Partners and Square Mile Capital Management, co-developers of 15 Little West 12, have closed on the sale of the newly developed office and retail building in the Meatpacking District for approximately $70 million to Epic LLC, the real estate investment company headed by Steven and Michael Elghanayan. The team led by Yoron Cohen, Jason Gold and Glen Tolchin of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the sellers in the transaction.

Located within the neighborhood's prime commercial area between Ninth Avenue and Washington Street, 15 Little West 12 is a newly-built, 80,000-square-foot development spanning Little West 12th and West 13th Streets. The five-story, block-through building offers three efficient full-floor office spaces, as well as ground- and second-floor retail. Designed as a nod to the neighborhood's industrial and commercial past, distinctive features of 15 Little West 12 include: well-configured, loft-like spaces with ceiling heights that range from 12 to 18 feet; a brown-and-gray brick façade; and large, industrial-style windows offering incredible views of the Hudson River, Meatpacking District, The Standard Hotel, the High Line, Downtown and Midtown.

In August 2010 Palantir Technologies signed a lease for the full fifth-floor space and subsequently expanded to take the full fourth floor, adding to the neighborhood's growing base of creative and technology companies. In the same month, Arhaus Furniture, a Cleveland-based chain specializing in one-of-a-kind items by skilled artisans using recycled wood and metals to create its inventory of exclusive Arhaus Furniture products, leased the cellar, ground and second floors totaling 32,000 square feet. Currently, only one full floor and a 2,000-square-foot, ground-floor retail space along West 13th Street are available for lease.

"It made sense to sell 15 Little West 12 now as the project approaches full occupancy," said Colleen Wenke, vice president of Taconic Investment Partners. "New York City's investment sales market has picked up again, and the Meatpacking District's transformation into a sought-after destination for office and retail tenants with very high barriers to entry made 15 Little West 12 a particularly attractive venture for any investor."

15 Little West 12 was the brainchild of the late Robert Isabell, who envisioned the building as adding to the color and fabric of the neighborhood. In conjunction with Isabell's estate, Taconic Investment Partners and Square Mile Capital Management made Isabell's vision a reality by completing construction and launching the marketing and leasing of the building.

Since its inception in 1997, Taconic Investment Partners LLC has acquired and developed more than eight million square feet of office properties in New York City. Taconic is co-developer of the new luxury high-rise Caledonia condominium and rental development along the High Line in Manhattan, has renovated two large residential complexes in Brooklyn and the Bronx, and has assembled significant land holdings in Coney Island (Brooklyn) for residential development.  The company's office holdings in the Meatpacking District include 111 Eighth Avenue, totaling 3 million square feet; the newly developed 15 Little West 12; and the prime redevelopment at 401 West 14th Street leased by Apple Computer.

Square Mile is a New York-based private investment firm that focuses on real estate and real estate-related opportunities, including both debt and equity investments.  Square Mile has organized institutional private equity funds totaling approximately $1.5 billion, including its most recent vehicle that closed in February 2009 with $806 million of committed discretionary capital. 

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