Union Investment Sells Manhattan Retail Property as Part of U.S. Portfolio Strategy

Union Investment Real Estate⁠ and its joint venture partner  Nuveen Real Estate⁠ have completed the sale of the retail property at 1511 Third Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in New York City. The buyer is  Stockbridge Capital Group⁠, a San Francisco-based real estate investment manager with investments across major U.S. property sectors. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

The property was acquired in 2016 through a joint venture between Union Investment and Nuveen Real Estate, then operating as TH Real Estate, on behalf of the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Global, which held a 49 percent stake in the asset.

The acquisition formed part of a four-property U.S. retail portfolio transaction that marked Union Investment’s entry into the American retail market. The sale follows the disposal of another joint venture asset, the 636 Sixth Avenue retail property in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, which was sold in 2024. UniImmo: Global continues to retain 49 percent interests in the remaining two retail assets located in prime shopping corridors in San Francisco and Philadelphia.

The fully leased building at 1511 Third Avenue comprises approximately 1,625 sqm of retail space across four floors and a basement. The ground floor and basement are primarily occupied by  Gap Inc.⁠, while the upper floors are leased to luxury fitness operator  Equinox⁠.

Kseniya Merritt, Senior Vice President and Head of Retail Investments North America at Union Investment, said the sale was driven by strategic portfolio considerations and would strengthen the fund’s liquidity position. She noted that the transaction was completed despite ongoing challenges in the U.S. investment market, including limited transaction activity and elevated interest rates.

The transaction was brokered by the New York retail team of  CBRE⁠, led by Doug Middleton and Jack Stillwagon.