Aurora Capital, AVRS pay $54M for office, retail in Midtown East in previously reported deal

Aurora Capital Associates and AVRS Partners through the entity 597 Fifth Owner LLC paid $54 million through a real estate owned to Comm 2014-UBS4 and LNR Partners through the entity Comm 2014-Ubs4 Fifth Avenue, LLC for the Charles Scribner’s Sons office and retail building (O6) at 597-599 Fifth Avenue in Midtown East, Manhattan. The expected use is cash flowing.
The deal closed on March 25, 2026 and was recorded on April 6, 2026. The property has 52,727 square feet of built space and 694 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 53,410 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $1,024 and the price per buildable square foot is $1,011 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The seller bought the property on July 8, 2011, for $99 million. The signatory for Comm 2014-UBS4 and LNR Partners was Randall Rosen . The signatory for Aurora Capital Associates and AVRS Partners was Robert Cayre . The contract date was February 27, 2026. Thor Equities bought the building for $99 million in 2011, and lost it in a foreclosure auction June 10, 2025 to the lender. The Real Deal reported on this transaction when it went into contract and identified AVRS Partners as a partner. https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/03/02/aurora-avrs-in-contract-to-buy-scribner-building/

Prior sales, articles and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has records that the buyer Aurora Capital Associates purchased two properties in two transactions for a total of $78.5 million and sold one property in one transaction for a total of $213 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Comm 2014-UBS4 purchased two properties in one transaction for a total of $153.7 million and sold one property in one transaction for a total of $9.5 million over the same time period. The Real Deal reported on March 03, 2026 that David Giancola paid $61 million to Aurora Capital Associates for 597 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, NY. The buy-side brokers were AVRS Partners of Aurora Capital Associates. The sell-side brokers were Andrew Scandalios of JLL.

The property

The retail building in Midtown East has 52,727 square feet of built space and 694 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 53,410 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 53 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 5,341 square feet. The zoning is C5-3 which allows for up to 15 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The property is in the Individual Landmark. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $46.7 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $2,275 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Midtown East, The majority, or 81 percent of the 62.6 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 7 percent of the space. In sales, Midtown East has the 2nd highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $4.9 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Midtown East is the 3rd most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 20.7 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 33 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of 13 of the 20 commercial properties representing 2,234,848 square feet of the 2,546,047 square feet. The largest owner is Sl Green Realty, followed by Kato Kagaku and then Comm 2014-Ubs4.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 285,606 square feet. It is a 285,606 square-foot business (B) building submitted by Albert Sanfilippo with plans filed June 30, 2022 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 93 percent of the 2.5 million square feet of built space are office buildings, with retail buildings next occupying 5 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Lnr Partners owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 52,727 square feet and a city-determined market value of $42.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single retail property. It is located in Manhattan.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Comm 2014-Ubs4 owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 52,727 square feet and a city-determined market value of $42.9 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single retail property. It is located in Manhattan.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Aurora Capital Associates owned at least 23 commercial properties with 144 residential units in New York City with 1,743,448 square feet and a city-determined market value of $649 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $529.7 million in debt, with top three lenders as Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, Apollo Global Management, and Webster Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 42 percent of the 1,743,448 square feet of built space are office properties, with retail properties next occupying 35 percent of the space. The bulk, or 69 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 24 percent of the space.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Avrs Partners owned at least one commercial property in New York City with 398,214 square feet and a city-determined market value of $112.6 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio consists of at least a single specialty property. It is located in Manhattan.

Direct link to Acris document. link