For a building as notorious as 281 Park Avenue South, it’s only fitting the buyer proved to be persona non grata in New York City.
Airbnb was unearthed as the purchaser ornate, Beaux Arts-style landmark in Manhattan, the Wall Street Journal first reported. RFR’s Aby Rosen was reported last month to be in contract to sell the building for $81.5 million, but the buyer wasn’t known at the time. Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners is Airbnb’s partner on the deal, according to a source familiar with the deal.
The purchase represents the first in New York City for the short-term rental company, which leases space elsewhere in the city. The 42,500-square-foot property will help house Airbnb’s 600-plus-strong workforce in the area.
“This building reflects our long-term commitment to the city and will be home to one of our largest employee hubs outside of San Francisco,” CEO Brian Chesky told the Journal.
Newmark’s Adam Spies and Joshua King represented Airbnb in the sale.
That commitment isn’t reciprocal these days. Airbnb was largely wiped out of New York City when Local Law 18 was enacted in 2023. Listings plunged by roughly 90 percent after the law took effect, decimating what had been one of its largest U.S. markets.
There have been multiple attempts by legislators to loosen the shackles on Airbnb, which spent nearly $4 million during last year’s election cycle to back City Council candidates and other political allies.
In 2024, fierce opposition from the hotel industry, tenant advocates and the influential Hotel and Gaming Trades Council dragged down one push to ease the restrictions.
And several months ago, City Council committee chairs blocked a proposal to temporarily suspend short-term rental regulations in the city in advance of the World Cup coming to town.
Despite that, Airbnb is putting down roots at 281 PAS, built in 1894 as the Church Missions House. RFR purchased it for $50 million in 2014. RFR struggled at first to lease the property, until the Swedish museum Fotografiska took the entire space in 2017, though it left last year.
RFR tried to sell the building in 2022 for $135 million, but a deal never got done.
The building gained infamy from Anna Sorokin, the con artist who in 2017 under the nom de plum “Anna Delvey” tried to lease the building and turn it into a private club. As part of her ruse, she attempted get a loan for a club at the building, pitching it in the vein of Soho House and estimating its costs at more than $40 million.
She was eventually acquitted of trying to fraudulently obtain a $22 million loan from Fortress Investment Group for the club but was convicted on larceny and fraud charges.
— Holden Walter-Warner and Keith Larsen
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