DekaBank Signs Lease in 1330 Sixth; Had Sold It to Macklowe in ’07

In 2007, after selling the Financial Times Building on Sixth Avenue to Harry Macklowe for a sizable $498 million, DekaBank receded from the New York real estate scene. Now the German bank is coming back, and not just to New York. The bank is actually reclaiming some of 1330 Avenue of the Americas—this time as tenants, not landlords.

DekaBank has signed a seven-year, 3,760-square-foot lease on the 23rd floor of the 40-story tower at an undisclosed rent. Given the tower’s primo Plaza district location at 54th Street and its recent $30 million renovation, rent is likely to be well over $100 a square foot annually.

“They decided to re-enter the New York market because they plan to place future money in New York,” said CB Richard Ellis senior vice president Paul Amrich, who represented Macklowe Properties in the transaction.

CBRE’s Neil King, who represented DekaBank, said that the Germans looked at a number of buildings in the Plaza district, and their old digs just happened to make the shortlist.

“They loved the renovation going on, the kind of European feel in the lobby, and the pre-builts are such high quality, with floor-to-ceiling glass for the offices, sleek finishes,” Mr. King said. “The fact that they owned the building was another positive.”

Unlike the last time they were here, DekaBank isn’t looking to buy buildings. Rather, like an increasing number of real estate professionals, it’s looking into real estate finance.

drubinstein@observer.com