http://www.nypost.com/seven/06102009...40m_173434.htm
AIG BLDG. FETCHES UNDER $140M
June 10, 2009
LOCAL owner/developer Youngwoo & Associates has teamed up with South Korea's Kumho Investment Bank to win the bidding for AIG's downtown headquarters complex that consists of the Art Deco 70 Pine St. and the more modern 72 Wall St.
Sources said the pricing for the buildings, which have a combined 1.4 million square feet of space, will be just under $100 a foot, bringing the total to less than $140 million.
Developer Young Woo's name surfaced as the possible buyer last Thursday, but he was revealed in print by colleague Steve Cuozzo in The Post yesterday, after which brokerage firm CB Richard Ellis revealed the entire partnership.
Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan of CBRE represented AIG in the marketing of the complex, which is connected by a skyway.
"We are pleased to announce this important transaction and view it as a key stepping-stone in our long-range plan to establish a major presence for Korean institutions in the US property and capital markets," added Greg Carney, a partner at YWA, in a statement.
Added Y.C. Kim, a director at Kumho, in a statement: "The investment is based on our optimistic view on the future of Wall Street, New York City and the US financial services industry."
Woo, an architect and graduate of Pratt Institute, has been involved in the development of properties including 85 Tenth Ave., the Chelsea Arts Tower on West 25th Street and 200 Eleventh Ave., where Annabelle Selldorf designed "en suite" elevators to bring one's car directly into one's condo.
He also is a partner in the telecom data center at 325 Hudson St.
Richard Warshauer of FirstService Williams, a team member who represents 325 Hudson St. said of Woo, "He's very creative with an enormous imagination."
Sources said Woo has a mixed-use proposal for the AIG complex.
Woo and Kumho are also partners in a bid to redevelop Pier 57, where they are proposing uses that include a marketplace, a contemporary arts center run by auction company Phillips de Pury & Co. and a home for the Tribeca Enterprises/Tribeca Film Festival.
However, the team is up against competing plans from firms that include the Related Cos. and the Durst Organization.
Bruce Mosler of Cushman & Wakefield said during a luncheon speech yesterday before the Young Mens'/Womens' Real Estate Association that the AIG deal substantiates his contention that current city pricing makes it attractive to overseas investors.
But another area owner, speaking on condition of anonymity, predicted of Woo, "He's going to have a hard time filling it."