The King’s College buys NYC building to use as dorm space

The King’s College has bought a 17,000 sq ft building in New York’s Financial District for $19.2m. The property was originally developed for The Riff Downtown Hotel. The hotel consisted of 36 rooms over four floors, with additional 3,200 sq ft of retail space on the ground floor and 2,500 sq ft on the lower level. The Christian liberal arts college intends to reposition the building into a dormitory. Cushman & Wakefield represented the sellers, Sal Smeke and Michael Wahba of Salt Equities, who bought the asset for $6m in 2012.

“As a result of shrewd asset management and leveraging favorable market dynamics, our client is able to achieve a strong return on investment following this transaction,” said Will Suarez of Cushman & Wakefield. “The property is surrounded by a wide-range of world-class attractions, including Battery Park, the ferries to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty, Museum of American Finance and the new World Trade Center and Transportation Center, which will serve the buyer well.”