Weill Cornell Medicine has acquired the former Sotheby’s headquarters at 1334 York Avenue for $510 million, according to a report from Bloomberg. The property spans 500,000 square feet, with the purchase price equating to $1,020 per square foot.
This transaction follows Weill Cornell’s previous agreement to lease 40 percent of the building from Sotheby’s two years ago. At that time, plans called for Weill Cornell to use the space for both computational and biological research labs, as well as conference rooms and workspaces. Occupancy was scheduled for this year.
Sotheby’s will continue to occupy four floors in the building under a leaseback arrangement. ARTnews reports that proceeds from the sale will be used by Sotheby’s to reduce debt, invest in its main business operations, and renovate its retained space on York Avenue.
In a statement, Weill Cornell said the acquisition was “materially the same net cost as leasing.”
JLL’s David Giancola, Geoff Goldstein and Steve Klein represented Weill Cornell in the deal. Sotheby’s was represented by CBRE’s Doug Middleton and Mary Ann Tighe.
Sotheby’s is preparing to relocate next month to the Breuer Building at 945 Madison Avenue after purchasing it from the Whitney Museum of American Art for $100 million in spring 2023. The new location will house auction activities and exhibitions.
The York Avenue building has been Sotheby’s home since 1980 and underwent a $55 million expansion and redesign in 2019. In 2020, Sotheby’s secured a $483 million floating-rate loan from Barclays on the property, which replaced earlier debt including a $252 million loan from BNP Paribas dating back to October 2019.
