Carlyle, Ashkenazy pay $680m for NYC office tower

The trophy 650 Madison Avenue office and retail building - located in New York City’s Plaza District - is now in private hands.

The Carlyle Group and New York-based private real estate investment firm Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation have acquired the approximately 600,000-square-foot 650 Madison Avenue office and retail building for $680 million (€430 million). The seller was Hiro Real Estate Company.

Located in midtown Manhattan on the block between 59th and 60th Streets on Madison Avenue, the property is located in the heart of New York City’s Plaza District, and across from the 50-story General Motors building.

The 650 Madison Avenue tower also includes approximately 90,000 square feet of prime retail space counting tenants such as Crate and Barrel and Todd’s. The building’s office tenants include Polo Ralph Lauren’s corporate headquarters, Columbia Presbyterian and several prominent investment firms.

Financing for the deal was provided by lenders including Natixis and Shorenstein.

Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation, based in New York City, acquires and operates primarily retail and office assets. It has a portfolio of more than 13 million square feet of retail and office properties located throughout the US and Canada including Union Station in Washington DC; Barney’s New York locations in New York, Beverly Hills and Chicago; and River Center Mall in San Antonio, Texas.