Aby Rosen buys Midtown office building for $350M

RFR seeking to lease 522 Fifth Avenue to a single tenant

RFR Realty's Aby Rosen and 522 Fifth Avenue (Getty; Google Maps)
RFR Realty's Aby Rosen and 522 Fifth Avenue (Getty; Google Maps)

Who says Manhattan is dead?

Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty just closed on a 23-story, 575,000-square-foot office tower in Midtown Manhattan for $350 million. Morgan Stanley sold the property at 522 Fifth Avenue, which it used as its headquarters for its wealth management division.

Rosen agreed to buy the building in mid-March.

Morgan Stanley has consented to stay as a tenant for at least three years after the sale. After the firm departs, Rosen is seeking to lease the building to a single tenant beginning in March 2024.

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“The unrivaled 575,000-square-foot vacancy is a remarkable blank canvas, well-positioned to respond to the requirements of a forward-thinking company looking for the prestige and exclusivity of a full building and New York City presence,” Rosen said in a statement.

Morgan Stanley previously 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. RFR’s purchase does not include the retail portion of the building.

In April, Rosen considered but decided against buying 900 Third Avenue in Midtown from Paramount Group for $400 million and a retail condo at 1600 Broadway in Times Square that was on the market for more than $200 million, according to Business Insider.