Aby Rosen Pulls Another NYC Office Building Back From Brink

After a rough close to 2024, Aby Rosen is starting 2025 on a financing hot streak.

RFR Holding recapitalized 475 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan after facing a foreclosure threat from its lenders, the Commercial Observer reported. Rosen’s firm landed a three-year, $160 million loan for the 23-story building, as well as an equity infusion from unnamed partners.

JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup provided the financing to Rosen, replacing a $180 million existing mortgage it had on the property. The banks previously moved to foreclose on RFR’s initial mortgage over the summer after part of the landlord’s debt matured in June.

RFR teamed up with Penske Media Corporation to purchase 475 Fifth Avenue in 2022 for $290 million; the media publisher contributed 50 percent of the equity in the partnership. Penske is the building’s largest tenant and is committed to the property long-term.

The purchase from Nuveen Real Estate was financed by a $260 million loan. The aforementioned banks were responsible for the senior mortgage, while PCCP provided the mezzanine debt.

The property is 90 percent occupied, according to Rosen, who teased additional deals at the building to be announced in the near future.

The recapitalization is the latest financing success for Rosen and RFR, which has been facing a wave of foreclosures and an eviction at the Chrysler Building.

RFR earlier this month closed in on a $1.2 billion CMBS loan to refinance the Seagram Building at 375 Park Avenue, according to a KBRA presale report. Newmark recently appraised the 38-story, 860,000-square-foot property at more than $1.8 billion.

Last month, Rosen’s firm scored a three-year extension on 17 State Street, a Financial District office building where RFR defaulted on a $180 million mortgage. At the same time, RFR also announced a five-year extension to pay off a loan tied to 150 East 72nd Street, a boutique retail property on the Upper East Side.

— Holden Walter-Warner