Barry Sternlicht’s LNR Sells Scribner Building to Aurora Capital for $54M
By Mark Hallum April 7, 2026 9:45 am
reprints
Two years after taking back the keys from Thor Equities, LNR Partners has sold 597-599 Fifth Avenue for $54 million.
Robert Cayre’s aurora capital purchased the office and retail properties, which include the 12-story Scribner Building, according to property records. The last known valuation of 597 Fifth was about $84 million when Starwood Property Trust foreclosed on the property in January 2024.
LNR, a subsidiary of Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but an Aurora spokesperson stressed the importance of the Scribner Building, between East 48th and East 49th streets, as a New York City mainstay.
Cayre declined to comment.
It’s unclear whether the building still has tenants or how the buyer will position the asset.
The retail component of the Scribner Building was once tenanted by high-end casual retailer Club Monaco, which leased a 13,000-square-foot space at the foot of property in 2019, as well as a 6,400-square-foot WeWork location.
Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities bought the buildings for $109 million in 2011, took out a $105 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan in 2014, and first defaulted in 2020 with total unpaid interest and fees reaching $124 million in 2023, according to The Real Deal.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
