Vornado Buying 49% Stake in Fisher Brothers’ Park Avenue Plaza

Vornado Realty Trust is acquiring Zhang Xin’s 49 percent stake in Park Avenue Plaza, sources familiar with the transaction told Commercial Observer. 

Majority owner Fisher Brothers is remaining in the deal.  

The property has a current valuation of $1.1 billion, and the transaction includes the assumption of roughly $570 million in debt, sources said. 

Newmark’s Adam Spies, Doug Harmon, Adam Doneger, Josh King, Marcella Fasulo and Avery Silverstein arranged the sale, sources said. Newmark declined to comment. 

Fisher Brothers has owned the asset, at 55 East 52nd Street, since 1981. Xin’s Soho China purchased a 49 percent stake from Rockpoint Group in 2011. The stake was later transferred to Xin’s Closer Properties.

News of the trophy asset listing was announced in January. The 45-story tower spans 1.2 million square feet and was nearly fully leased at the time, The Real Deal reported, with firms like Evercore, Morgan Stanley and General Atlantic among its tenants.

The building was refinanced in 2021 with a $575 million commercial mortgage-backed securities debt package consisting of a $460 million senior loan and a $115 million mezzanine loan. 

Vornado expects to close the acquisition in the second quarter of 2026, according to a news release, after which Vornado and Fisher Brothers will have joint control over major decisions.

Vornado declined to comment further on the deal.  Closer Properties and Fisher Brothers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com, while Emily Davis can be reached at edavis@commercialobserver.com.