Amazon Buys 600K SF Fifth Avenue Building From RFR
Amazon's voracious appetite for Manhattan office space isn't letting up.
The tech giant has purchased 522 Fifth Ave., a 23-story office building on the corner of 44th Street, from RFR Realty, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed to Bisnow.
The 600K SF building is entirely vacant, giving Amazon a blank canvas. A spokesperson declined to comment on the Seattle-based company's plans for the property, which was constructed in 1896.
"We continuously evaluate our corporate office needs to best serve Amazon's businesses, employees, and customers," a company spokesperson said in a statement.
The Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs-owned real estate investor announced the sale of the building in a press release Friday morning but declined to identify a buyer or the price of a sale.
A price could not be learned as of press time. A deed transfer hadn't yet been recorded in the city register.
"We’ve always had a sharp eye for architecturally significant assets that stand the test of time," Rosen said in a statement. "This sale speaks not only to the enduring appeal of the building, but to the strength of the Grand Central corridor and the growing demand for distinctive, high-quality opportunities in New York."
RFR bought the building from Morgan Stanley for $350M in September 2020. It had served as the investment bank's headquarters — and as J.P. Morgan Asset Management's HQ before that.
Rosen and Fuchs took out a $224M mortgage to finance the purchase but defaulted on the loan and was hit with a foreclosure action last year. SL Green then acquired the loan and took over as plaintiff in the foreclosure suit.
SL Green and RFR settled the lawsuit in March, giving RFR until June 25 to pay off the debt, according to court records. The REIT dismissed the suit on Thursday.
“SLG previously held a mortgage loan investment position in the office condo at 522 Fifth Ave, and the loan has been satisfied and SL Green no longer holds an ownership position in the asset,” an SL Green spokesperson said in a statement.
Amazon has now bought or leased roughly 1.5M SF of Manhattan office space since last fall, around the time it instituted a full-time return-to-office mandate. Most recently, it leased 330K SF at 452 Fifth Ave., two blocks south of 522 Fifth. A few blocks further south is Amazon's New York headquarters at 424 Fifth Ave., the former Lord & Taylor building the Jeff Bezos-founded firm bought for $1B in 2020.
UPDATE, MAY 2, 1:30 P.M. ET: This story has been updated to include a comment from SL Green.
