Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Capital Group has been exclusively retained to market a portfolio of seven prime Citibank retail branch locations in New York City, including three on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The Capital Group team of Kenneth L. Zakin, Randall E. Liberman and Hymie M. Dweck is orchestrating the offering, which will provide for bidding on individual properties or the entire portfolio. Asking prices will not be fixed, but Zakin said the collection of exceptional locations net-leased to Citibank could generate total bids in the range of $100 million.
In addition to the Manhattan sites, the offering includes two bank branches in Brooklyn, a Forest Hills branch in Queens, and one in the Bronx that also has a net-leased Walgreens retail store.
Each of the properties has 10 years remaining on an existing Citibank lease, and the option of three 10-year extensions. “Each location has been a fixture in its respective neighborhood and operates as the dominant bank branch in its local market,” Zakin said, adding that “the average customer branch deposit base for banks in the portfolio is $372 million.”
Zakin, who has led the sale of nearly 100 bank branches, said this offering is inciting “extraordinary” inter-est even before formal offering because of the premier locations involved. A first pool of Citibank branch offerings last month also attracted spirited bids, he noted.
The three Manhattan branches include one at 123 East 86th Street (between Lexington Avenue and Park Avenue) in the Upper East Side’s busiest shopping district; an exclusive Carnegie Hill location at 1275 Madison Avenue ( East 91st St.); and the highly visible location at 2261 First Avenue (First Avenue and 116th St.).
In Brooklyn, the classic bank building at 181 Montague Street in the heart of Brooklyn Heights also pro-vides more than 80,000 square feet of unused development rights. The branch at 885 Flatbush Avenue in downtown Brooklyn is situated along the mass transit corridor.
The Queens branch located at 107-01 71st Avenue, adjacent to the Forest Hills LIRR station, is an ex-traordinary location in the heart of the community’s shopping district and has the benefit of additional 20,000 square feet of unused development rights. In the Bronx, the property at 1800 Williamsbridge Road is a longtime Citibank branch and also houses a newly-built net-leased Walgreens store completed last year.
About Newmark Grubb Knight Frank
A part of BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP), Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is one of the largest com-mercial real estate service firms in the U.S. It brings together the strategic consultative approach to creat-ing value for clients and leading position in the New York market that are hallmarks of Newmark; the complementary strengths of Grubb & Ellis in leasing and management, investment sales, valu-ation and capital markets services; and BGC’s financial strength, proprietary technology, expertise in global capital markets and deep relationships with many of the world’s leading financial institutions.
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, together with its affiliates and London-based partner Knight Frank, em-ploys more than 11,000 professionals, operating from more than 300 offices in established and emerging property markets on five continents. This major force in real estate is meeting the local and global needs of tenants, owners, investors and developers worldwide.