Chabad buys Manhattan building for $42M
Hasidic movement finalizes acquisition of 12-story structure on 5th Avenue, between Apple and Versace stores
According to the Hasidic movement's website, the building is located in the heart of New York City at 509 Fifth Avenue and measures 60,000 square feet in size.
Chabad of Midtown Manhattan has occupied the building for 16 years. From its landmark second-floor location at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, the movement currently operates a synagogue, community center and a slew of programs. It is particularly famous for attracting a series of top businesspeople, who have given donations and provided loans for the building's purchase.
Chabad emissaries Rabbi Joshua and Bracha Metzger, plan to rent most of the building's floors to businesspeople in order to fund the cost of its purchase and maintenance.
The Chabad of Midtown Manhattan yeshiva currently includes 13 students.
This real estate deal is particularly surprising, as Chabad members are known to stay in modest places and live off donations and teaching Torah in local communities.
There are some 4,000 active Chabad centers across the world, but such a grand building has yet to be purchased.
