Ernst & Young’s headquarters goes for $1.5B

AVR Realty sells 5 Times Square to investor David Werner in major deal

From left: 5 Times Square, Adam Spies and Doug Harmon
From left: 5 Times Square, Adam Spies and Doug Harmon

The sale of 5 Times Square — the headquarters of Big Four accounting firm Ernst &  Young — is official.

AVR Realty Co. sold the one-million-square-foot tower on Tuesday to a group led by investor David Werner. Negotiations began last fall.

AVR bought the building, which is home to Ernst & Young’s U.S. headquarters, in 2007 for $1.28 billion.

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The sale comes on the heels of another big Times Square transaction. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund bought a 45 percent stake in 7 Times Square last fall from Boston Properties Inc. The fund paid $684 million for a share of the building.

Eastdil Secured sales brokers Douglas Harmon and Adam Spies marketed 5 Times Square. [WSJ, 2nd] — Claire Moses