All it takes is U.S. $415.5 million to own a piece of New York, as evidenced by H&R REIT, who have acquired Two Gotham Center, an office tower in Long Island City, New York. The recently completed 22 storey Class A office tower comprises 661,000 rentable square feet of office space, 100 per cent leased to the City of New York for an initial term of 20 years with contracted rental escalations of approximately 8 per cent every 5 years, providing a bondable income stream secured by the superior AA credit of the City of New York, as well as an additional 9,000 square feet of prime ground floor retail space.
The property represents the first building of Gotham Center – a 2-block development that is transforming the landscape of Long Island City. Once completed, it will contain approximately 3.5 million square feet of new office, retail, parking and residential development. Designed by architects Moed de Armas & Shannon, Two Gotham Center was developed and owned by the internationally recognized developer Tishman Speyer, in a partnership with Square Mile Capital LLC and the Modell family.
Two Gotham Center’s curving 325-foot glass façade, efficient and generous floor plates of 34,500 square feet, and other green technologies will significantly reduce operating costs and is anticipated to earn the project a LEED Silver certification.