[Eidolon]

Park Avenue office building that lost investors $39 million to be sold for six times that sum
January 15, 2016
By Daniel Geiger

A Park Avenue office building, which caused three Manhattan landlords to lose $38.6 million eight years ago, is in contract to be sold for $240 million.

MRP Realty and Deutsche Bank Asset Management have arranged to purchase 405 Park Ave., a 17-story building on the corner of East 54 Street, for $240 million from the Donerail Corp., the 175,000-square-foot property’s longtime owner.

The pending sale of 405 Park demonstrates how much property values have not only rebounded but soared. The property is located along one of Manhattan’s most expensive office corridors where rents routinely surpass $100 per square foot.

Just one block away, for instance, L&L Holding Company is constructing a new office tower at 425 Park Ave., where it is seeking rents that top $300 per square foot—a record for the city. Although 405 Park Ave. is nearly fully leased, MRP Realty and Deutsche Bank Asset Management have the option to renovate the property and cash in on rising rental rates in the neighborhood as space in the property becomes available as leases expire.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens here.