Cushman & Wakefield Provides Heavenly Guidance
American Bible Society has sold its headquarters to Avalon Bay Communities for $300 million.
By Robin Nathanson, Associate Editor
New York—Under the guidance of Cushman & Wakefield, American Bible Society (ABS) has sold its headquarters, located in Columbus Circle at 1865 Broadway, to Avalon Bay Communities for $300 million. ABS was represented by a Cushman & Wakefield team led by Helen Hwang, Nat Rockett, Steve Kohn, Karen Wiedenmann and Brian Szczapa.
ABS put its 12-story NYC headquarters up for sale to “unlock the value of the site” to further the non-profit’s mission. The 199-year-old society has been at 1865 Broadway for almost 50 years.
“We are extremely pleased to assist American Bible Society in a transaction that is so important to their mission,” said Hwang, executive vice president at Cushman & Wakefield. “Development sites with a significant footprint and meaningful scale almost never become available in Manhattan, let alone within a location with such a global presence. To complete a deal with AvalonBay just speaks volumes for the potential of this project.”
ABS is assisted by a Cushman & Wakefield leasing team led by Heather Sloan, Timothy Arizin and Edward Weiss in finding a new global headquarters. Staff from its current New York City and Valley Forge, Pennsylvania locations will merge in the new location in Philadelphia, close to Independence Hall. According to the ministry the location was chosen because of factors such as strategic collaboration opportunities, affordability and livability. The new offices will encompass nearly 100,000 square feet of office space.
“American Bible Society has a remarkable Scripture collection of over 50,000 volumes in 2,500 languages,” said Heather Sloan, a Cushman & Wakefield associate director. “That collection will now be just steps from where the Declaration of Independence was signed, close to many other incredible museums and historical sites, continuing the transformation of Independence Mall in Philadelphia. Cushman & Wakefield is honored to have assisted American Bible Society with its headquarters relocation.”
