An office building with an upscale address, 450 Park Avenue sold for $1,589 per square foot, or about $510 million. According to the Wall Street Journal, the price is believed to be the most expensive confirmed sale of commercial real estate on a per-square-foot basis in U.S. history. The building was sold by a partnership that includes New York State Common Retirement Fund and Taconic Investment Partners LLC. The partnership had paid $158 million, or about $492 per square foot, in 2002--a 223% return on a piece of real estate in just five years--that's normal. Somerset Partners LLC, a New York-based private-equity firm won the right to impale themselves on a price that seems nearly impossible to turn a profit.....Oh, the dollar hit 26-year low today against the Pound Sterling while crude prices seem to be compensating for the confetti that its denominated in, and crossed over $71/barrel. Still, undeterred, the Nasdaq gained nearly 30-points and the Dow about 126-points.
