Union Investment and Nuveen Real Estate have completed the sale of their retail property at 1511 Third Ave. on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The asset has been acquired by San Francisco-based Stockbridge. The parties did not disclose the sale price or other financial terms of the transaction.
Union Investment originally acquired the property in 2016 as part of a closed joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate, which at the time operated under the name TH Real Estate. The investment was made on behalf of Union Investment’s open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Global, which held a 49% stake in the venture. The sale marks the fund’s exit from this particular Manhattan retail holding.
The property comprises approximately 17,500 square feet distributed over four floors plus a basement level. It is described as fully leased, with a national apparel retailer and a high-end fitness operator in place as tenants. The main portion of the ground floor and the basement is leased to Gap, while the upper floors are occupied by luxury fitness company Equinox. The mix of tenants reflects both fashion and fitness uses within the building’s overall retail profile.
Commenting on the decision to sell, Kseniya Merritt, senior vice president and head of retail investments North America at Union Investment, noted that the trade was executed in a transaction environment still marked by limited deal activity and elevated U.S. interest rates. She indicated that the disposition was driven by strategic portfolio considerations and is expected to improve the liquidity position of the Unilmmo: Global fund.
The transaction was brokered by the CBRE New York retail team, which was led by Doug Middleton and Jack Stillwagon. Their team arranged the sale between the selling joint venture partners and Stockbridge. No additional details were provided regarding marketing time, buyer business plan or any potential future repositioning of the property.
The sale of 1511 Third Ave. illustrates that stabilized, fully leased retail assets on Manhattan’s Upper East Side can still attract institutional capital despite a muted overall transaction market. While pricing and other financial metrics remain undisclosed, the deal underscores ongoing investor interest in retail properties anchored by established national brands and well-known fitness operators in dense urban neighborhoods.
