Savanna, Deutsche Bank Delay 521 Fifth Avenue Foreclosure Sale

Savanna and Deutsche Bank are pushing off the foreclosure sale of 521 Fifth Avenue, asking for a 90 day extension on the $242 million CMBS loan that Savanna defaulted on in 2024, according to a KBRA Credit Profile alert reported by Commercial Observer. The request, made with the borrower’s consent, is the fourth sale extension granted since April on the 39 story, 495,636 square foot Midtown Manhattan office tower near Bryant Park.

Why it matters

Deutsche Bank originated the floating rate loan in 2019 to finance Savanna’s $381 million purchase of the building, structuring it into the COMM 2019-521F single asset CMBS deal with an initial two year term and three one year extension options. Those extensions are long since exhausted, which is why the loan sits in default and the sale keeps getting pushed, not cancelled. Refinancing a 2019 vintage floating rate loan is harder with the 10 year Treasury yield at 5.0% as of October, the kind of rate backdrop our newsroom tracks for the New York market and a core reason distressed Manhattan office CMBS loans from that cohort keep landing back on servicers’ desks rather than getting paid off.

The numbers

Savanna and Deutsche Bank are jointly marketing 521 Fifth Avenue after taking it off the market in September, when a prior deal fell through following months of due diligence. The building was initially shopped at $265 million, or $535 a square foot, before a June 2026 appraisal put it at $270 million, or $545 a square foot. Leasing has slid to 67% as of December 2025, down from 81% in December 2021 and 90% in December 2020, and by September 2026 another 84,440 square feet, 17% of the building’s leasable area, was listed as available. KBRA’s Patrick Czupryna pointed to two comparable Midtown sales, the Berkeley Building at 303,000 square feet and 79% occupied for $108 million, and 260 Madison Avenue at 531,270 square feet and 68% occupied for $211.2 million, both of which traded below their appraised values.

What’s next

No new foreclosure sale date has been confirmed; the 90 day extension request, not a resolution, is the event here. If granted, it buys Savanna and Deutsche Bank more runway to find a buyer jointly rather than let the sale proceed on its own. Both sides declined to comment to Commercial Observer. The loan’s path adds to a run of Manhattan office capital stress this fall, alongside landlords like SL Green working through their own disposition and refinancing pressure, and continues to test how long special servicers will keep extending 2019 era CMBS loans rather than forcing a sale at a lower basis.