The sluggish office-building sale market got a half-billion-dollar gift — not from Santa, but from the world’s largest reinsurance company.
Munich Re quietly bought out its joint-venture partner Mutual of America at 320 Park Avenue, the 760,000 square-foot tower between East 50th and 51st streets, The Post has learned.
Munich Re had previously owned 25% of the fully-leased property.
The deal reflects the strength of Park Avenue north of 42nd Street, where most buildings are fully leased to prime tenants.
The tower is occupied by Mutual of America, which has been headquartered there since it bought the building in 1992, along with Raymond James and a few other financial firms.
As an internal partnership transaction, the purchase won’t be posted on the city Finance Department ACRIS website. But market sources estimated the price at between $500 million and $525 million — a number that values the entire building at roughly $700 million, or around $900 per square foot.
Mutual of America brought Munich Re in as a minority partner through Munich’s asset manager MEAG in 2021. MEAG put $40 million into upgrades, including a new lobby, a tenants’ amenities floor and improvements to nearly half of the building’s floors.
Munich Re also owns 330 Madison Ave. where, as The Post reported in August, it paid off the half-billion dollar mortgage in cash.
“Think of it,” a brokerage source said. “Between that and now 320 Park, they put a billion dollars into the city in less than six months.”
The deal would be one of the largest office purchase in the city this year, when values have continued to slump after the pandemic.
For example, Morgan Stanley is taking a bath on the sale of 2 Park Ave. to Haddad Brands for $360 million — compared with the $519 million it paid for it in 2007, the Real Deal reported last week.
Previous Manhattan office purchases this year were actually eclipsed by a few spectacular retail deals, most notably, Gucci parent Kering’s $963 million acquisition of a mere three floors at 715-717 Fifth Ave. from Jeff Sutton in January.
Mutual of America was represented by a JLL team of Frank Doyle, David Kleiner and David Giancola. Munich Re was advised by its asset manager, MEAG.
JLL vice-chairman Doyle described 320 Park Ave. as “a prime example of the standout Class-A office properties that are overperforming in the current market. It offers a superior location, premier amenities, and best-in-class ownership, making it highly attractive to top tenants.”
