By Al Barbarino 4/25 1:02pm

Sales Beat

(Credit: Macklowe Properties)

125 West 55th Sells for $470 M. Amid Push to Unload Class A Towers

In another whopping example of large real estate owners seeking to capitalize on current market conditions by unloading top-shelf inventory, Boston Properties has reportedly sold its 23-story office building at 125 West 55th Street for $470 million to J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

The deal follows a string of other Class A building sales this year – 550 Madison Avenue, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 237 Park Avenue and 75 Rockefeller Plaza – which accounted for $3.8 billion of the city’s first quarter dollar volume and created a 46% year-over-year jump, according to data from Avison Young. Read More

By Al Barbarino 3/26 7:30am

Sales Beat

408px-Objectivist1

Comcast Seals its $1.3 B. Piece of 30 Rock

Comcast has closed on its $1.3 billion purchase of 1.3 million square feet of office and studio space at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, city records confirm.

The transaction was part of the media and communications giant’s $16.7 billion purchase of a 49 percent stake in NBCUniversal from General Electric, announced last month.

The location, the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center, is host to the property’s annual Christmas tree lighting and inspiration for the title of NBC’s television series “30 Rock.” Read More

By Gus Delaporte 2/15 12:30pm

Sales Beat

30rock_8

Piece of 30 Rock Part of Comcast’s NBCUniversal Deal

In one of the largest real estate deals in recent memory, Comcast will purchase from General Electric the properties used by NBCUniversal at iconic 30 Rockefeller Plaza and CNBC Headquarters as part of its acquisition of GE’s remaining 49 percent equity stake in the media company, it was announced earlier this week.

Though the building is owned by Tishman Speyer, the office and studio space at 30 Rock involved in the deal is owned by GE and is considered a commercial condo. GE will keep space in the building on the 52nd and 53rd floors.

The real estate component of the deal accounts for approximately $1.4 billion of the $16.7 billion transaction and trumps the $1.1 billion sale of the Sony Building to the Chetrit Group last month. Read More

By Jotham Sederstrom 9/27/12 7:00am

Postings

Television Stars Map of New York.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Fictitious

» When the television series 666 Park Avenue debuts this Sunday, it will mark the latest example in a long tradition of writers and directors setting fictional lives in actual New York City real estate. Be it the Ansonia at 2109 Broadway, the real-life address associated with 666 Park Avenue, or 185 East 85th Street, the home of George and Louise Jefferson, the Big Apple is rife with real estate made famous through television shows. With that in mind, The Commercial Observer reached out to Jonathan Miller, president and chief executive of Miller Samuel, for his thoughts on value using what limited information was available back in the day of Manhattan’s most recognizable television co-ops, hangouts and offices spaces. And while the numbers may be surprising, what we still haven’t figured out after all these years is how Joey Tribbiani was able to rent all that prime West Village space on a struggling actor’s salary. Read More

By Jotham Sederstrom 9/06/12 7:00am

Postings

CO PSOTINGS 9/4

What Are the Odds Rainbow Room Gets Landmarked Next Week?

It was the velvet drapes, crystal chandeliers and one-of-a-kind revolving dance floor that first drew Manhattan’s upper crust to the Rainbow Room when it opened in 1934, and it may be those same Jacques Carlu-designed features that help immortalize it next week.

Indeed, a full four years after the glamorous Art Moderne restaurant and nightclub was shuttered amid a drawn-out feud between landlord Tishman Speyer and the Cipriani family, the Landmarks Preservation Commission is now set to consider the space for a rare interior landmark designation, which would simultaneously protect it from alterations by future tenants while arguably reducing the number of potential suitors for the 65th-floor space.

While all eyes will be on the Rainbow Room when officials meet September 11, The Commercial Observer will also be paying attention to a host of other landmarks issues tentatively scheduled for next week’s LPC docket. After the jump, we handicap the odds. Read More

By Michael Ewing 8/06/12 7:40am

Lease Beat

Courtesy of Flickrverse

Perkins Coie Extends to Second Floor at 30 Rock

Perkins Coie has signed a sublease expanding their office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

The law firm will be taking over Squire Sanders’ 24,258 square foot floor in the building. The office currently houses forty employees consisting of seventeen attorneys, a patent agent, and twelve general staff members.

“We are excited to expand our office space Read More

By Daniel Geiger 7/20/12 12:50pm

Lease Beat

1301 Avenue of the Americas

Chadbourne To Take Space At 1301 6th

Chadbourne & Parke LLP is going forward with a deal to move its headquarters to 1301 Avenue of the Americas, several sources have told The Commercial Observer.

The law firm had been shopping around the Manhattan market for months in search of a new home, coming close to leases at One World Trade Center and 230 Park Avenue only to pull away and resume its search. Read More

By Daniel Geiger 4/17/12 9:30am

2Q12

One Chase Manhattan Plaza

Right Out of Gate, 2Q12 Looks Sluggish

Just weeks into the second quarter, brokers are already saying that caution continues to linger in the city’s leasing market.

After one of the slowest quarter in years during the first three months of the year, a number of large transactions that have been
rumored to be in talks for months remain in negotiations and big tenants who do have to lease space have made decisions that reflect a
sense of conservatism. Read More

By Jotham Sederstrom 3/15/11 6:44pm

Lease Beat

Lazard Takes More of 30 Rock

Already among Manhattan’s top tenants, in terms of space, Lazard, the financial advisory and asset management firm, has renewed its lease at Rockefeller Center, taking an additional 60,000 square feet. The 21-year renewal lease with Tishman Speyer for office space at 30 Rockefeller Plaza will bring the firm’s total square footage to a whopping 430,000 Read More