Lois Weiss
BETWEEN THE BRICKS
Among the bidders lining up for the Sony Building at 550 Madison Ave. are two other companies with ties to Japan: the Rockefeller Group, owned by Mitsubishi Estate; and Mitsui Fudosan America.
Vornado Realty Trust and Boston Properties are among the suitors as well, according to Real Estate Alert, while we hear there are teams of pension funds and some high net worth individuals circling the iconic tower, also known as the Chippendale Building.
Locals throwing their hats into the ring include Harry Macklowe and Steven Witkoff, along with investors from the Middle East and Israel, China, Russia and Europe.
According to Real Estate Alert, offers to the marketers — Douglas Harmon and his team at Eastdil Secured — are coming in at more than $850 million and, depending on Sony’s leaseback terms, could top $1 billion.
No one returned requests for comment.
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When we were last upstairs at Windows of the World in the North Tower for a Building Congress luncheon on April 30, 2001, we went outside to the observatory and stood in awe of the enormous antenna.
The next time we saw the antenna, on Aug. 11, 2006, it was inside the artifact hanger at JFK — burnt, bent and in pieces. One of those pieces will be on display at the 9/11 Museum, according to a spokesperson.
Yesterday, we spent a chilly morning in the Durst Organization’s water taxi trailing a barge ferrying nine of the 18 new antenna pieces from the Port of Newark to Pier 25 near Battery Park City.
It was amazing to see the barge, pushed by the able tugboat Ann Moran, move past the Statue of Liberty with the Empire State Building and the otherwise topped-out 1 World Trade Center and 4 World Trade Center in the background.
We could feel the excitement in the harbor as lucky tourist boats and the Staten Island ferry floated by while every helicopter, tugboat and Coast Guard boat buzzed the area for a look.
The antenna pieces will be lifted one a day, weather permitting, to the top of 1 World Trade Center until the 408 foot-tall mast reaches the sky at nearly 1,776 feet — give or take an inch or so.
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Besides the altruistic reasons for getting people back in their homes as soon as possible, the city is pushing hard for repairs on Sandy-damaged homes and buildings because the taxable status date is coming up on Saturday, Jan. 5.
To ensure your valuation is lowered for the Jan. 15 tentative property-tax roll, you can find a new form online at the Finance Department to document the damage and mail it to the agency. Finance says it is also using damage found by the Department of Buildings and aerial photography.
Assessors will also take walk-ins at the outer-borough offices, Dec. 18 through Dec. 20, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with later hours to be announced. Bring clear photos of the damage, plus insurance and FEMA documents.
The agency will also consider this information through Feb. 1 for Classes 1 and 2, and until April 15 for Class 4. The final roll is published on May 25.
To maintain your legal rights, you must also file a formal application with Finance for correction by the Tax Commission by Friday, March 1 for all but Class 1 homes, which have until March 15.
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has introduced a bill that would allow owners whose homes have lost at least half their value due to Sandy to apply for property-tax assessment reductions according to a sliding scale.
For a 100 percent loss, the taxable assessed value would be reduced to zero — but don’t forget that vacant land also has a value and is taxed.
Additionally, the city council has just passed a law to give red-tagged homes and apartment buildings deemed unsafe until April 1 to pay their second-half tax bills without any interest.
But remember, you will then have two bills to pay at that time for both January and April.
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The building known as the King of Greene at 72-76 Greene St. between Spring and Broome streets sold last night for $41.5 million. The price equates to $1,186 a square foot for the 35,000 square-foot building.
New owner L3 Capital buys retail, but sources said this is the three partners’ biggest city bet so far and is based on finding a new anchor for the temporary Apple store that is now vacant. There are also some offices and rent-stabilized residential tenants.
The sole broker, Adelaide Polsinelli of Eastern Consolidated, declined comment.
Lois@BetweentheBricks.com
Bids galore for Sony Bldg.
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Bids galore for Sony Bldg.
