At Kushners’ Flagship Building, Mounting Debt and a Foundered Deal -
By CHARLES V. BAGLIAPRIL 3, 2017
The Fifth Avenue skyscraper was supposed to be the Kushner Companies’ flagship in the heart of Manhattan — a record-setting $1.8 billion souvenir proclaiming
that the New Jersey developers Charles Kushner and his son Jared were playing in the big leagues.
“We are well on our way to lining up the $2.5 billion in equity needed to get
this deal done,” Mr. Yolles said, “and we’re confident that we’ll get there.”
The Kushner Companies bought the building in January 2007, closing the deal on Jared Kushner’s birthday
and paying the highest price ever for a New York office building.
The Kushners are looking for a partner or partners to invest $3.3 billion, including $500 million from the Kushner family
and others, who would own a 20 percent stake, according to Mr. Yolles, the company spokesman.
But the spokesman, James Yolles, said Charles Kushner remained optimistic
that he would secure fresh investors who would not only pay off the existing debt on the building but also finance the demolition of the current structure and the construction of a 1,400-foot tower designed by Zaha Hadid.