Jamestown, Rockwood Spend $390M for NYC’s 530 Fifth Ave.

February 1, 2012
By Nicholas Ziegler, News Editor

Artist's rendering of ground-level retail at 530 Fifth Ave. after renovations.

While there have been some predictions for the cooling of the New York City office market, and even some talk of Downtown becoming the new hotspot of development, don’t ever count out Midtown. Near the close of yesterday’s markets, Jamestown Properties and Rockwood Capital announced the $390 million acquisition of 530 Fifth Ave. – also known as the Bank of New York Building – which is soon to undergo a $20 million renovation to bring the property to Class A standards. The purchase’s partnership also included Crown Acquisition and Murray Hill Properties.

“530 Fifth Ave. is considered an iconic building on Fifth Avenue and we look forward to restoring the property to prominence,” Michael Phillips, COO of Jamestown, said. “In addition, Fifth Avenue south of 48th Street has become a hot-bed of retail activity in the last year, and following the renovations at 530 Fifth Avenue, the building will be a stand-out option for retailers.”

A report in the third quarter of 2011 by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. found that Fifth Avenue was the second-most-expensive street, on average, for domestic asking office rents at $97 per square foot. Similarly, Cushman & Wakefield Inc.’s data showed that the Midtown market, which ended 2010 with a 10.6 percent vacancy rate, saw that number fall to 9.6 percent by the end of 2011. Class A asking rents in the same time period increased from $67.27 to $71.22 per square foot.

The building’s office-leasing efforts will be led by Newmark Knight Frank’s president, David Falk. “When the building is re-introduced with the proposed renovations underway, I believe there will be tremendous interest from tenants that want the Grand Central location but are looking for a building that matches a company’s high-profile brand and image.”

Retail development and leasing will be handled by Jamestown and Crown, which will likely prove to be a fruitful initiative. According to Cushman, Upper Fifth Avenue saw a fourth-quarter 2011 average ground-floor asking rent of $2,338 per square foot, a 12 percent increase from the previous quarter. Lower Fifth Avenue, where the acquisition is located, increased 50 percent in the same timeframe to a record $865 per square foot.