Since nobody else has any interest in downtown NY real estate, Goldman's Bill Dudley, currently incidentally in charge of the New York Fed, has decided to step up. "The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (New York Fed) today announced that it has acquired the building at 33 Maiden Lane for $207.5 million from Merit US Real Estate Fund III, L.P. and established a new, wholly owned limited liability company called Maiden & Nassau LLC to serve as owner of the building. The acquisition provides a cost-effective, long-term alternative to the current practice of leasing space in this and other buildings and allows for greater control over maintenance, operation and security of the building." As a reminder, the 9th floor of 33 Liberty is where the ever elusive, but always present Plunge Protection Team, pardon the "markets group" at the Federal Reserve is housed (more here). And although in recent days it is no secret that the bulk of Fed open market stock order are routed via that one certain HFT powerhouse out of Chicago, it is always a good idea to keep all the market manipulating facilities under one roof. And so, the Fed now will have full domain over everything that transpires under its own roof. And since the building likely has an extended basement, it provides Dudley, and his muppet Ben Bernanke with a convenient location where to store the soon to be confiscated 107 tons of Greek gold.
The legendary Brian Sack hard at work reflating junk and destroying the dollar:
More:
The decision to purchase the building was based on a comprehensive financial analysis that considered the Bank’s long-term space needs and the potential fluctuations in the New York City downtown real estate market. The purchase decision was approved by the New York Fed’s board of directors as well as by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
The New York Fed has been the primary occupant of the building since 1998 accounting for nearly 75 percent of the space. Approximately 1,100 Bank staff work in the building.
William C. Dudley, president of the New York Fed, said, “The purchase is a cost-effective way to meet our business needs and will enable us to more easily ensure appropriate security for our operations. We are also pleased to contribute, through our investment, to the ongoing revitalization of lower Manhattan.”