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NEW YORK CITY — San Francisco-based Airbnb has purchased 281 Park Avenue South, an office building in Midtown Manhattan, for $81.5 million, according to reports from multiple news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and the New York Post. The landmarked, six-story building is known locally as Church Missions House. According to WSJ, which was first to report Airbnb as the buyer, the purchase comes “as the company continues to lobby local and state officials for loosening of the city’s strict restrictions on short-term rentals.” The Post reports that the 42,500-square-foot building will serve as “a dedicated hub for Airbnb’s New York workforce, which numbers more than 600 employees in the region.”