CalPERS closes on purchase of 787 Seventh for $1.9B

AXA Financial is also close to selling adjacent office tower at 1285 Sixth

787 Seventh Avenue in Midtown and CalPERS CEO Anne Stausboll
787 Seventh Avenue in Midtown and CalPERS CEO Anne Stausboll

CalPERS, a California pension fund, closed on the purchase of a 1.7 million-square-foot office tower at 787 Seventh Avenue for $1.9 billion from AXA Financial, according to property records filed with the city Friday.

The fund signed a contract in December to acquire the 51-story tower, located between West 51st and West 52nd streets. The property, built in 1985, houses offices for Swiss bank UBS AG among other tenants. The building has a 98.4 percent occupancy rate, according to CoStar.

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AXA Financial, the U.S. arm of the French investment firm AXA, is also about to close on the sale of 1285 Seventh Avenue, another 1.7 million-square-foot property that sits on a four-acre site with 787 Seventh. The Real Deal reported in December that Scott Rechler’s RXR Realty was in talks to buy that property from AXA and JPMorgan Chase for $1.7 billion. Both deals are two of the priciest single-building transactions in New York City history.