text: Scholastic HQ | 555 Broadway
  Scholastic closes on $255M Soho HQ buy
  Publisher a tenant in 555 Broadway since 1992 -- and owns adjacent building
  Mar.March 06, 2014 06:45 PM
  Book publishing company Scholastic has closed on its purchase of its U.S. headquarters at 555 Broadway for $255 million, according to public records filed with the city today.
  Scholastic purchased the 325,000-square-foot property from South Carolina-based landlord ISE America. ISE had owned the building since 1996, public records show.
  Scholastic had been a tenant at the building since 1992 and has owned the adjacent building, at 557 Broadway, since 2010, according to its website.
  The company paid $25.5 million for 557 Broadway, records show.
  The purchase of 555 Broadway "will increase our cash flow and will also provide us with the flexibility to further monetize this valuable space in the Soho neighborhood," Richard Robinson, Scholastic's CEO said in an earnings call in December.
  "We expect to fund the $255 million purchase with cash on hand and borrowings under our committed credit facility," he said.
  It was not clear whether or not a broker had been involved in the deal. A spokesperson for Scholastic was said the person who dealt with the purchase was not immediately available to comment.