Steve Kassin, Xerxes take over 587 Fifth Avenue leasehold

Midtown property went through years of lawsuits

587 Fifth Avenue and Steve Kassin
587 Fifth Avenue and Steve Kassin

After a four-year legal battle, 587 Fifth Avenue finally has a new owner.

Steve Kassin’s Infinity Real Estate quietly took a majority stake in the 10-story, 41,652-square-foot building’s leasehold for an undisclosed price at the end of 2016, according to sources, with Xerxes Group and Elyass Eshagian holding a minority interest.

Eshagian previously owned the leasehold in partnership with Asher Zamir, but the partners fell out in the wake of the building’s botched sale to Crown Acquisitions in 2011. For four years the two sides traded lawsuits to determine who controls the property, before reaching a settlement in December 2016.

In the wake of the settlement, LLCs associated with Eshagian and Xerxes’ Daniel Gohari took over the leasehold for “ten dollars and other valuable and good considerations,” property records show. A spokesperson for the new owners declined to specify the terms of the deal, citing the settlement’s confidentiality. Infinity was brought in at the time of closing, sources say.

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The new owners landed a $36 million mortgage and a $9.3 million gap mortgage from Sterling National Bank in late March, property records show. In a statement, Infinity and Xerxes said they want to spend $5 million on renovations.

The building includes 3,300 square feet of retail, occupied by British clothing company Karen Millen, and 40,000 square feet of office space, 12,000 of which are vacant.

Infinity last year sold the former East Village home of Frank Stella and a nearby property for $22 million. Xerxes, the investment firm founded by brothers Arash and Daniel Gohari, made the news last year when it listed the former apartment of the late Ferrari dealer Roffredo Gaetani for sale.

(To view more retail leasing transactions, click here)