Japan’s Mori Trust has acquired the lower half of a mixed-use tower in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards — the largest U.S. private real estate development — that includes the world’s first luxury Equinox Hotel.
Mori Trust, through its U.S. subsidiary, Mori America, bought the office, retail and hotel portion of the 92-story 35 Hudson Yards from developers Related Cos. and Oxford Properties, the Tokyo-based firm said Tuesday in a statement.
The purchase price was approximately $545 million, a person familiar with the transaction told CoStar News.
Related, Oxford Properties and Mori Trust didn’t immediately respond to CoStar News’ separate requests seeking comment.
The acquisition, reported earlier by Bloomberg News, includes 490,128 square feet spanning the first through 38th floors of the 1.1 million-square-foot property, Mori Trust said. That portion encompasses the 212-key Equinox Hotel occupying the 24th to 38th floors.
The hotel is an extension of the Equinox fitness club brand that aims to create an immersive experience for health and wellness. Related founder Stephen Ross is an investor in parent company Equinox Group as well as SoulCycle, a chain of cycling studios. As part of the deal, Mori Trust also picked up retail space at the tower containing an Equinox gym and SoulCycle location.
The office space counts flexible workspace provider Industrious as the largest tenant, CoStar data shows. Other retail tenants include Starbucks.
Second New York acquisition
The deal marked Mori Trust’s 12th in the United States, and second in New York after its 2023 purchase of a 49.9% interest in 245 Park Ave. from Manhattan’s largest office landlord, SL Green Realty, in a transaction that valued the property at $2 billion at the time.
“Acquiring high-quality properties overseas, such as 35 Hudson Yards, contributes to the stability and sustainability of our asset portfolio and will drive further growth in the future,” Mori Trust President and Chief Executive Miwako Date said in the statement, adding that Mori Trust plans to make the Equinox Hotel even “more attractive.”
Equinox Group has said it’s developing a network of 33 Equinox hotel properties globally in the next 10 years in key gateway cities and resort markets.
The deal comes as Manhattan outperforms the broader U.S. market, leading the post-pandemic recovery in both office and hotel sectors. The average daily hotel rate in New York, for instance, has reached a record high of $330, according to CoStar data.
Mori Trust said it will “continue to actively pursue overseas real estate investments with a focus on stability, sustainability, and growth potential.”
The skyscraper, designed by David Childs and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and completed in 2019, also includes 54 stories with 143 luxury condos that are not part of the transaction.
Outside of New York, Mori Trust has bought properties such as 15 Necco St., an office tower in Boston, and 601 Massachusetts Ave. NW in Washington, D.C.
For the record
Newmark's Adam Spies, Doug Harmon, Marcella Fasulo, Adam Doneger, Josh King and Avery Silverstein represented the sellers.