Rockrose to move HQ to Madison Square Park condo

Developer just purchased the unit for $105M from Savanna

From top left: Savanna's Christopher Schlank, 15 East 26th Street, Rockrose's Justin Elghanayan
From top left: Savanna's Christopher Schlank, 15 East 26th Street, Rockrose's Justin Elghanayan

Developer Rockrose will move its headquarters from Midtown to a commercial condominium at 15 East 26th Street, which the firm just purchased from real estate investment firm Savanna for $105 million, Rockrose president Justin Elghanayan told The Real Deal.

Rockrose, which is currently based at 666 Fifth Avenue, will move its offices to the 20-story building, between Madison and Fifth avenues, sometime next year, Elghanayan said. The condo comprises the entire office portion of the building — about 150,000 square feet of space, Elghanayan confirmed.

The building also houses a retail outpost for haute designer Vera Wang’s bridal line, and 81 residential condominiums, according to StreetEasy.

Savanna announced the sale of the boutique mixed-use building this afternoon. The transaction closed today, Elghanayan said.

Elghanayan cited rising activity in the area as the reason for the move, pointing to Ian Schrager’s Clock Tower Edition Hotel which is rising nearby at 5 Madison Avenue and the Witkoff Group’s condo conversion project at 10 Madison Square West, which launched sales in July.

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“Also, it’s nice to be in your own building,” he said.

Savanna bought the office portion of 15 East 26th for $57 million last year and planned a $9 million upgrade of the space.

“We are pleased that upon completion of our business plan and leasing efforts at 15 East 26th Street, we will be able to deliver exceptional returns to our investors,” Nicholas Bienstock, a managing partner at Savanna, said in a statement. “Rockrose is acquiring a terrific asset in a market where we see strong demand and great additional opportunity.”

Craig Deitelzweig, head of Rockrose’s office division, represented the firm in-house. Adam Spies, Doug Harmon, Adam Doneger and Joshua King of Eastdil Secured represented Savanna, according to the firm.