TIAA-CREF Buys Manhattan Retail Condo for $44.73 Million

The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA–CREF), the large pension fund manager and institutional investor, has purchased a retail condo in Manhattan for $44.73 million, according to city records.

The seller was the Bromley Companies, which built the condo building at 225 West 83rd St. in 1985. Costas Kondylis was the architect.

Retail tenants in the building include a Chico's clothing store and Charles Schwab.

TIAA strives to improve the quality of its portfolio by capitalizing on opportunities to realize value through select sales as well as through carefully identified acquisitions, said a spokesperson for the group.

Officials at Bromley didn't immediate return requests for comment.

The New York Post, which first reported the deal, said the ground floor retail space was 9,300 square feet and the sale included an additional 5,200 square foot, unleased basement. The brokers were Woody Heller, Will Silverman and Eric Negrin of Studley.

TIAA-CREF has been an active investor in New York real estate, a competitive market that has weathered the real estate downturn better than the rest of the country.

Last June, it purchased the Corner, a luxury rental building at 200 West 72nd Street, developed by the Philips International, Rhodes Associates and the Gotham Organization. TIAA-CREF paid over $1 million per unit for the 196-unit building, which is fully leased and has rents that go up to $18,500 per month. Last year, it also bought an office building at 475 Fifth Avenue for $144 million and purchased the land beneath 425 Park Avenue for $315 million.