DKNY downsizing with move to Aby Rosen’s 285 Madison

The changes continue for fashion label DKNY, which is shrinking its office footprint with a move to RFR Realty’s 285 Madison Avenue in Midtown.

DKNY is taking around 85,000 square feet in the 25-story, 425,000-square-foot office building, located between East 40th and East 41st streets. The company will relocate to the property when the lease on its significantly larger, 135,000-square-foot space at 240 West 40th Street expires next year.

The deal is the latest shakeup for the beleaguered fashion label, which is reportedly planning to shutter its 18,000-square-foot flagship retail store at 655 Madison Avenue, according to Crain’s.

The label’s parent company also filed a WARN notice in July indicating that it would lay off dozens at DKNY, while founder Donna Karan announced earlier this year that she was leaving the company.

But the deal is a boost for Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty, which purchased 285 Madison Avenue for $190 million three years ago and is hoping to rebrand the 1920s-era building as a home for creative tenants.

A partnership between Samuel Rosenblatt’s Olmstead Properties and Jonathan Rose Cos. recently acquired DKNY’s current building at 240 West 40th Street for $85 million, as The Real Deal reported. [Crain’s] – Rey Mashayekhi