Rosen in talks for 350 Madison Avenue

RFR Holdings’ Aby Rosen is weighing a $350 million purchase of 350 Madison Avenue, according to the New York Post. The 25-story, 394,000-square-foot building, between East 44th and East 45th streets, is owned by Kenisco Properties and is being marketed by Jones Lang LaSalle’s Richard Baxter, Ron Cohen, Scott Latham and John Caplan.

Kenisco, run by Nabil and Fouad Chartouni, purchased the building for $194.5 million in 2005 from Monday Properties and the Landis Group. It then embarked on a major renovation of the tower, adding a glass facade and updating the lobby. The Post said the construction work limited the property’s occupancy to 70 percent, which provides potential upside to RFR even as the $350 million — or $888 per square-foot — it is reported to be considering spending is on the high side of broker estimates. Retailer Paul Stuart has leased the retail space in the building since 1965.

Uptown on the avenue, at 980 Madison, RFR recently secured leases with three boutique retailers, part of a trend of edgier downtown clothiers taking space on the Upper East Side. [Post, 1st item]