Bill Ackman is buying a badass office building far away from the rest of hedge fund land
That's far away from where most hedge funds are headquartered in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.
The former Ford Motor Company building, located at 787 11th Avenue between 54th and 55th streets, was was expected to sell for more than $230 million. It's unclear how much is being paid.
Ackman's $20 billion Pershing Square Capital Management currently occupies the 42nd floor of 888 Seventh Avenue, which offers stunning views of Central Park. The lease will be expiring soon.
We expect that Ackman probably has big plans for Pershing's new digs.
The old Manhattan Ford Lincoln Mercury dealership is an eight-story building with ground retail space and rooftop access.
It's just across the West Side Highway from Piers 92/94 and is also located directly across the street from De Witt Clinton Park, which features basketball and handball courts as well as baseball and soccer fields.
Foursquare user/ Rafael P.
The only drawback is that there are no major subway lines nearby, so Pershing employees may want to make a habit of riding bikes along the West Side Highway Bike Path.
Pershing employees are a pretty active crowd as is (there's a gym in Pershing's current office and Ackman has held the record on the treadmill and the rowing machine).
Then again, there could also be a shuttle.
The building itself was finished in 1929. It was originally the Packard Motor Car Company Service Building, according to a report in the New York Times. It was renovated by Ford in 1997. By the way, we noticed that the building is adorned with some gargoyles (see photos here).
Pershing Square employs about 70 people, and they currently occupy about 31,000 square-feet in New York, so it's likely that other tenants would rent space in the massive West Side building.
Ackman has an estimated networth of $2.5 billion. In 2014, he was the best-performing big hedge fund manager, netting his investors 40% in a year where most funds struggled. He's been making headlines lately for his real estate investments. Ackman famously dropped $91.5 million on a luxury apartment at One57-the second most expensive NYC apartment sale ever-with a group of investors.
Here's a map of where the new office will be located:
Google Maps with illustration by Business Insider
Here's a Google Street View version:
Google Maps