RFR Back as Buyer, Purchases UES Retail Condo for $57M
Aby Rosen’s RFR has recently faced some difficulty keeping possession of iconic New York buildings, but the firm has found its luxury footing with an Upper East Side retail purchase.
RFR acquired the condo at 841 Madison Avenue on East 70th Street from Status Capital and the Safra-associated JSRE Acquisitions for $57 million, the Commercial Observer reported. The deal for the 18,000-square-foot property breaks down to $3,167 per square foot.
The four-story unit is occupied by luxury fashion company Prada, which opened its flagship U.S. store at the location three decades ago. At the time, it was the company’s largest store in the world.
Global Advisory’s Ross Mezzo and Majestic Acquisitions’ Ezra Saffati arranged the sale.
“This sale is a clear signal that Madison Avenue has fully reclaimed its position as a premier luxury retail corridor in Manhattan,” Mezzo told the publication.
RFR is attempting to reclaim its own position among New York property owners after recent setbacks.
Near the end of 2024, Rosen’s company was kicked out of the Chrysler Building after missing more than $21 million in ground rent payments to Cooper Union. More recently, the firm sold 281 Park Avenue South — infamously linked to Anna Delvey — for $81.5 million, a steep decline from a $135 million asking price.
Rosen is also in a power struggle with SL Green involving air rights in Midtown East, buying a $1 million apartment in the residential condo building at 5 East 44th Street in an attempt to thwart Marc Holliday’s firm from buying unused air rights. The two sides have been at war since SL Green snapped up 346 Madison Avenue, an office development site RFR was angling to get.
Meanwhile, JSRE just sold two adjacent mixed-use buildings at 69 and 71-73 Greene Street in Soho for $60 million to Acadia Realty Trust. The five-story, interconnected properties total about 16,500 square feet each with ground-floor retail space occupied by streetwear brand Amiri.
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