New York Building Sales for $1.8 Billion

The 41-story skyscraper at 666 Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street was sold for $1.8 billion to a New Jersey real estate family, the Kushners. This deal sets a record for the highest price ever paid for a single office building in the United States.

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The price is more than three times what a group led by Tishman Speyer paid for the building six years ago, the NY Times reports.

The 41-story skyscraper has served as a symbol of corporate power and wealth since it opened in 1957. Tenants include high-powered law firms and bankers. The top of the building is the Grand Havana Room, an exclusive cigar bar for the politically connected and wealthy members.

The new owners the Kushners are unknown players in the Manhattan real-estate market but own 22,000 apartments and more than five million square feet of office and industrial space in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

“This is a great acquisition for our company,” said Jared Kushner, 25, who signed the contract to buy the building Monday night. “We are upping our presence in Manhattan. It’s a logical expansion for us.”

Charles B. Kushner, company founder and a major Democratic fund-raiser, was released from prison earlier this year. He was convicted last year of 18 counts of tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign donations.