Ashkenazy, DekaBank look to sell the retail condos at 522 Fifth

The vacant, newly redeveloped two-level space was valued at $277M last year

Ben Ashkenazy and 522 Fifth Avenue
Ben Ashkenazy and 522 Fifth Avenue

Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation and DekaBank are looking to sell the newly redeveloped retail space at the base of 522 Fifth Avenue, marketing materials obtained by The Real Deal show.

The owners wrapped up a $16 million renovation of the two vacant retail condominiums at the base of the 23-story, 380,000-square-foot office condo building earlier this year. The two-floor retail condos together have 27,310 square feet, with about 10,850 square feet on the ground floor, the documents show.

The retail was valued at $277 million last year, when General Growth Properties sold its 10 percent stake to an unidentified investor.

Ashkenazy, Germany-based DekaBank and Chicago-based real estate investment trust GGP jointly acquired it for $165 million in 2014 from Morgan Stanley, which continues to occupy the entire office space.

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At the time the partners bought it, shoe chain Camper and sporting-goods store Orvis were the retail tenants. Camper paid $410 per square foot in rent, and Orvis paid $142 per square foot, the New York Post reported in 2014. They vacated prior to the renovation.

A Cushman & Wakefield team led by Adam Spies is marketing the space. Neither Ashkenazy nor the brokers responded to requests for comment.

The storefront has been one of many lying vacant on Fifth Avenue, such as 511 Fifth and 592 Fifth.

Ashkenazy, a Midtown-based real estate investment firm led by Ben Ashkenazy, also wants to sell the New York Marriott East Side hotel at 525 Lexington Avenue in Midtown and the 361-unit Rental Avalon Chrystie Place on the Lower East Side. The firm paid $270 million and $400 million for the properties, respectively.

The 522 Fifth space joins the retail condos at 11 East 68th Street, 15 Union Square West and 10 Madison Square West, which also recently hit the market.