ROCKROSE TAKES OVER NOMAD OFFICE BUILDING IN $145M DEAL

Jan. 6, 2022 - The Real Deal

Rockrose Development is doubling down on the city’s office market with the takeover of a NoMad building that it plans to combine with a neighboring property.

The developer purchased the remaining stake in 11 East 26th Street in a deal valued at $145 million, Rockrose’s Ted Traum told The Real Deal. The firm held a nearly 50 percent stake in the office building after acquiring a 14 percent interest in April and another 5 percent in November.

The latest deal values the pre-war building at $275 million.

The company bought a 7.5 percent interest in the property in 2018 for $8.3 million. Adams & Company, the property’s managing agent and the seller in the latest deal, first bought into the building in 1968.

“Rockrose had a vision for the building that was the highest and best use for the building, so we did an off-market deal,” said David Levy, principal of Adams & Company.

Rockrose plans to reposition the 21-story, 260,000-square-foot office building, as well as 15 East 26th Street, a property next door that it owns. The two buildings will share an expansive new lobby facing Madison Square Park, along with a fitness center, rooftop deck and other amenities.

The developer has tapped Thomas Vecchione of boutique firm Vocon to design the revamped office complex.

Traum said the acquisition signals the company’s “tremendous confidence” in the health of the city and the future of the office market, even as vacancy rates remain high and companies delay bringing their employees back to the office. The design of the office spaces will reflect the need for employees to work collaboratively but comfortably, as well as tenants’ heightened focus on amenities. He expects construction to start later this year.