search

The Real Deal Logo

Trending

Tides’ original investors may be wiped out by preferred equity dealTides’ original investors may be wiped out by preferred equity dealFort Lauderdale crane collapse victim seeks over $50M in damagesFort Lauderdale crane collapse victim seeks over $50M in damagesLA court strikes down SB9 law allowing single-family lot splitsLA court strikes down SB9 law allowing single-family lot splitsBillionaire hedge funder Larry Robbins makes South Florida moveBillionaire hedge funder Larry Robbins makes South Florida move
Commercial
New York

RFR to buy Morgan Stanley’s 522 Fifth Avenue for $350M

Investment bank to remain as tenant for at least three years

522 Fifth Avenue, Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman and RFR Realty’s Aby Rosen (Credit: Getty Images; Google Maps)
522 Fifth Avenue, Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman and RFR Realty’s Aby Rosen (Credit: Getty Images; Google Maps)

Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty is in contract to acquire the office portion of 522 Fifth Avenue from Morgan Stanley for around $350 million, Crain’s reported.

Morgan Stanley occupies all of the office space in the 23-story office building, and was reportedly looking to sell the office condominiums to a new landlord in 2017 as it searched for a new 1.9 million-square-foot Manhattan headquarters.

The investment bank has agreed to stay as a tenant for at least three years after the sale, which will bolster RFR’s attempts to seek financing in a challenging economic environment.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

“Well-located office buildings will still receive a much wider appetite from the lending community than some other businesses, such as the hospitality sector, right now,” Newmark Knight Frank’s Dustin Stolly told Crain’s. “The amount of debt that lenders are willing to extend is still a question, but the answer is, we haven’t yet seen lenders pull back.”

Morgan Stanley sold the two-story retail portion of the building to Ashkenazy Acquisition, DekaBank and GGP for $165 million in 2014. GGP later sold its 10 percent stake to an unidentified investor.

The bank had also sought to sell its office building at 1585 Broadway, but did not find any buyers. [Crain’s] — Kevin Sun

Tags
Morgan StanleyRFR Realty