It Was Worth $119M In 2015. Now This NYC Fifth Avenue Property Is Valued At $37.8M

A recent valuation shows one Fifth Avenue retail property is worth almost 70% less than it was in 2015 as the famous luxury retail strip continues to feel the pain of the coronavirus pandemic.

The value of landlord Solly Assa’s nine-story retail and residential building, once occupied by Domenico Vacca at 15 West 55th Street, has plummeted from $119M to $37.8M, The Real Deal reported, citing appraisal data from Trepp.

The building, which went up in 1915, sits a few blocks south of Central Park and also contains 36 luxury residential units, according to StreetEasy. 

The steep decline in value amid the coronavirus crisis may soften as the city emerges from the pandemic, said Compass Vice Chairman Robin Abrams, who focuses on retail leasing. 

“If you’re valuing based [on] much-reduced Covid rents and/or vacancy, then the numbers are going to be substantially down versus looking at things a year or two post-Covid when rents will somewhat recover,” she told Bisnow. 

Still, rents and valuations for Fifth Avenue will likely not go back up to the 2015 peak, Abrams said.

“There have been people that they don’t know if they are going to see rents like that in most of our lifetimes again,” she said. 

As some Fifth Avenue luxury tenants have been suing to get out of their leases and leaving their spaces behind over the past year, rents have plunged. Sale prices have gone down too. SL Green acquired the retail leasehold for 85 Fifth Ave. for $59M, less than the $80M it was purchased for in a 2015 sale. 

The luxury residential market has taken a hit as well, with landlords lowering their asking price significantly for both rentals and condos over the past year.