Ex-Silverstein Chief's New Venture Buys 600 Third Ave for $245M

Marty Burger, the former CEO of Silverstein Properties, closed the first deal for his new investment platform L&L Infinite this week, paying $245 million to buy 600 Third Avenue, a 42-story, 575,254-square-foot office tower on the west blockfront of Third Avenue between East 39th and 40th Streets in Midtown East. Burger built the venture earlier this year with David Levinson, CEO of L&L Holding Co., and brought in Mack Real Estate Group, BLDG Management and BD Blakely as partners on the buy. Bain Capital supplied a $215 million acquisition loan. The seller was BlackRock. The tower is 92 percent leased to tenants including law firm Polsinelli, Energy Impact Partners and 3G Capital.

Why it matters

A debut acquisition sets the thesis for a new platform, and L&L Infinite picked a heavily leased, tenant-diverse Midtown East tower rather than a distressed or vacant asset. Burger has said Manhattan’s office leasing market has made a full recovery as workers return, and a 92 percent occupied building with law firm and private equity tenancy is a wager that rent growth, not vacancy risk, is the trade in this submarket now. For developers watching where institutional capital is willing to underwrite new office ownership platforms, this is a signal that Midtown East towers with strong occupancy are trading again at meaningful leverage, with Bain Capital willing to write a $215 million loan against the asset.

The numbers

The deal priced 600 Third Avenue at roughly $426 per square foot across its 575,254 square feet. Bain Capital’s $215 million loan covers about 88 percent of the $245 million purchase price, a high leverage point for an office trade in the current cycle. BlackRock, the seller, exits a 1970-built tower whose retail base spans Dunkin’, Shake Shack, Just Salad, PureGym and Chipotle alongside its office roster. The 92 percent occupancy rate puts the building well above the citywide Midtown office average.

What’s next

L&L Infinite’s next moves will test whether this debut buy was a one-off opportunistic pickup or the start of a broader Midtown acquisition program for the Burger-Levinson venture. Watch for whether the partnership pursues additional New York office towers with similar occupancy profiles, and whether Bain Capital or other lenders follow with financing for L&L Infinite’s next deal.