Fortress, partners sell Tiffany & Co. building on Worth Avenue for $26M

UPDATED, Dec. 30, 12:10 p.m.: Fortress Investment Group, Hyde Retail Partners and Kean Development sold the Tiffany & Co. building on Worth Avenue for $26.4 million.

Records show FRO II 259 Worth Owner LLC sold the building at 259 Worth Avenue in Palm Beach to 259 Worth Avenue LLC, a Delaware corporation that links to London real estate firm Motcomb Estates Limited. The sale only includes the ground floor of the building. On the top floors, Kean and its partners are planning a luxury penthouse condo. 

The partnership bought the 16,374-square-foot building for $20 million in 2018 after it was on the market for nearly two years. The main tenant, Tiffany, has occupied the building since 1991. Tiffany leases 11,081 square feet and has invested millions in upgrades like marble floors and steel doors. The building was constructed in 1950, property records show.

Ritzy Worth Avenue is one of the most expensive retail streets in the country. Other retailers include Bottega Veneta, Brioni, Chanel, Gucci, Lilly Pulitzer, Louis Vuitton, Salvatore Ferragamo and Van Cleef & Arpels.

In November 2019, the town council approved plans to convert the second floor of the Tiffany & Co. building into a 10,000-square-foot, luxury condo, and build a third-floor spa in the building.

LVMH, the French luxury products group, announced in late October that it agreed to acquire Tiffany & Co. in a modified deal, settling their pending litigation in Delaware Chancery Court. The merger is expected to close in early 2021.