230 Park Avenue to Trade - Again!!

There's word on the street that The Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue will trade for at least $1.1 billion in April. A deal is rumored to have been struck with two buyers, a major I-Bank and the property's current manager, Monday Properties.

This marks the second time the "Crown Jewel of Park Avenue" has traded in the last 18 months, after this year's seller Isthimar bought it in Q3 2005 for $705 million. Word is that Monday wanted to buy it then (along with a host of other bidders), but the guys from the Middle East came in with their over-the-top price on the last bidding day. A year and $400 million more later, it looks like they finally have their building.

The current NOI is rumored to be somewhere around $35 million, resulting in a cap rate in the neighborhood of 3.2% (before closing costs and reserves).