Back in the fall, The Observer profiled development scion William Macklowe as he stepped out on his own. His father, Harry, along with Billy, had lost much of the Macklowe empire in the bursting of the real estate bubble, and parting ways seemed best. He launched the William Macklowe Company last year. “So much has been written about the past and all that, it’s just not an area that I really wish to comment on,” Macklowe told The Observer in September.
And so it goes.
Macklowe, fils, is preparing for his first major purchase, according to The Journal, beating out 20 other bidders for 636 Avenue of the Americas. The price is $45.2 million, more than 50 percent higher the $29 million paid in 2004. This is in part because a limited supply of sales is driving up prices, The Journal reports, but Macklowe also said he sees an opportunity to upgrade the building and thus charge more in rent.
Macklowe told The Journal he is at work on at least seven other deals, many in line with his company’s interest in distressed assets–an ironic approach, given that Deutsche Bank looked at the old Macklowe empire much the same way when it refused to negotiate with the family on its over-leveraged properties, and instead decided for foreclose on them.
mchaban@observer.com
