Ground Lease NYC: Structure, Valuation, Reset Mechanics

What is a Ground Lease in NYC?

A ground lease in NYC is a long-term lease, usually 99 years, under which a tenant pays the landowner ground rent and develops or operates a building on the land. The landowner retains the fee (the underlying ownership of the land), and the tenant owns the improvements for the duration of the lease.

In Manhattan, the most valuable ground leases sit under trophy office, hotel, multifamily, and mixed-use buildings. The fee is usually held by long-time owners, often the same family for generations, while the leasehold usually sits with institutional capital. Skyline Properties has structured and brokered ground leases for both sides of the table.

NYC Ground Lease Terms and Valuation Benchmarks

Standard NYC ground lease terms and current valuation benchmarks, anchored to the $65M 99-year Kaufman Organization ground lease at 236 Fifth Avenue and Skyline Properties' $120M+ closed ground-lease portfolio.

Source: Skyline Properties ground-lease desk. Robert Khodadadian + Daniel Shirazi, Esq. (Skyline Properties EVP, attorney-trained).

How to Structure a New 99-Year Ground Lease in NYC, Step by Step

This is the process Skyline Properties runs when a NYC landowner wants to create a new ground lease and monetize the fee without selling it.

1. Confidential intake call with Robert Khodadadian and Daniel Shirazi, Esq.
2. Land valuation and projected ground rent capacity analysis
3. Term selection (99-year standard) and rent reset schedule design
4. Escalation structure: CPI vs fixed step-up vs fair-market reset
5. Subordination, non-disturbance, and SNDA structuring
6. Leasehold tenant outreach to Skyline Properties' curated 3–12 buyer pool
7. Term sheet negotiation; PSA-equivalent ground lease execution
8. Closing: the land stays with the fee owner and the tenant takes possession to develop

Ground Lease NYC: Skyline Properties Coverage

Skyline Properties handles every ground lease structure that trades in the New York market.

• Fee position sales (selling the land under an existing leasehold)
• 99-year ground lease structuring (creating a new ground lease over fee land)
• Leasehold position sales (selling the tenant's interest)
• Ground rent reset and ground rent restructuring advisory
• Ground lease for development (ground-up under a long-term lease)
• Ground lease valuation and broker opinions of value
• Ground lease 1031 exchange placement

Why Owners Sell Ground Lease Positions in NYC

Selling a NYC ground lease position is a big decision. Long-time owners often hold the fee as a legacy asset passed down through generations. Estate planning, a shift of capital into other investments, or a 1031 exchange frequently makes a sale of the fee position the right move.

Skyline Properties runs every fee position sale confidentially. That protects the relationship with the leasehold tenant and keeps the ground rent stream undisturbed while the position is marketed.

• Estate planning and generational wealth transfer
• Capital reallocation into higher-yielding investments
• 1031 exchange placement into income-producing assets
• Liquidity from a legacy asset with thin cash flow
• Confidential, off-market execution to protect leasehold relationships

Ground Lease Structuring for NYC Developers

On the development side, a ground lease can make a project work when a fee-simple purchase would not. Taking the land out of the capital stack lowers the equity check and improves project IRR, and the legacy landowner shares in the long-term upside without selling outright.

Skyline Properties structures ground leases for ground-up development, conversion and recapitalization, representing both fee owners and developer-tenants.

• Net effective ground rent and step-up modeling
• 99-year vs 49-year vs 75-year structure tradeoffs
• CPI escalations and fair-market reset clauses
• Subordination, non-disturbance, and SNDA structuring
• Fee owner participation (kicker structures, profit participation)

Skyline Properties-Brokered NYC Ground Lease Transactions: The Public Record

Every ground lease transaction in our transaction database where Skyline Properties was broker of record. You can check each one against the deeds recorded in ACRIS. Where a case study exists, the row links to it for deal-level detail.

Source: Skyline Properties transaction database. 4 flagship ground lease transactions, $120M+ aggregate. Full 236 Fifth Avenue case study at /case-studies/236-fifth-avenue.