The new venture between Burger and David Levinson closed on the 575,000-square-foot Midtown tower with $215 million in debt from Bain Capital.
L&L Infinite, a joint venture between Marty Burger and David Levinson, acquired the office tower at 600 Third Avenue in a transaction valued at $245 million. The firm partnered with affiliates of Mack Real Estate Group, BLDG and BD Blakely for the acquisition, backed by a $215 million loan from Bain Capital.
The 42-story building contains 575,000 square feet and spans an entire block between East 39th and East 40th streets. It was originally built in 1970 and is 92% leased to tenants including law firm Polsinelli, strategic investment firm Energy Impact Partners and global investment management firm 3G Capital.
Burger spent 14 years as CEO of Silverstein Properties and now serves as CEO of L&L Infinite. The venture launched in January to acquire distressed or transitional assets in New York and Florida, according to a release.
Levinson's L&L Holding Co. has held a stake in the building for decades. The most recent sale of the property was in 2006 when a BlackRock fund paid an L&L affiliate $315 million for a 95% stake previously controlled by GE Asset Management. L&L reportedly kept a 5% share of the building at that time.
BlackRock sought to unload its majority stake in 600 Third Avenue in 2017. The announcement of the deal says L&L Holding and an unnamed institutional investor were the sellers.
Through our longstanding industry relationships, we assembled a team of premier investors and secured an attractive financing package that will enable us to build on the success of 600 Third, Burger said in a statement. Our leasing successes at 600 Third are a symbol of the resurgence of the Midtown East business district and the Grand Central submarket, Levinson said in a statement.
Newmark's Adam Spies and Josh King represented the seller and assisted on the debt. The brokerage's Ken Zakin also assisted on the deal's equity.
The Deployment Angle
Family Office Real Estate Daily Desk · our analysis, not the source's
The transaction structure favors co-GP arrangements over passive fund commitments. L&L Infinite assembled a consortium of named equity partners for a single asset rather than raising a blind pool, which suggests the sponsors are willing to share governance in exchange for speed and certainty of close. Family offices that can commit $20 million to $40 million of equity and tolerate shared control should pursue direct co-investment conversations with Burger and Levinson rather than waiting for a commingled vehicle.
The arithmetic is straightforward. A $245 million acquisition with $215 million of debt implies roughly $30 million of equity split among L&L Infinite, Mack Real Estate Group, BLDG and BD Blakely. If L&L Infinite and its partners each contributed pro rata, the typical check size per equity partner was $6 million to $10 million, though the actual split is not disclosed. That ticket is accessible to most single-family offices with real estate allocations above $100 million.
Underwrite the basis risk and the refinancing horizon. The 2006 sale at $315 million implies the current $245 million price is 22% below the last arm's-length transaction, but that comparison is nearly 20 years old and reflects a different interest-rate regime. The building is 92% leased, which limits downside from vacancy but also limits upside from lease-up. Price in a refinancing or sale within three to five years and model whether the Bain Capital loan carries extension options or a hard maturity that forces a capital event.
Avoid blind faith in sponsor track record as a substitute for asset-level diligence. Burger's tenure at Silverstein and Levinson's long hold at 600 Third Avenue are relevant, but this is L&L Infinite's first deal and the partnership is untested. Family offices should insist on quarterly cash-flow reporting, approval rights over major leases and capital expenditures, and clarity on how exit decisions will be made among four equity partners with potentially different hold periods.
