Eastdil Secured Tapped to Sell 550 Madison, Philip Johnson’s Iconic Sony Building
By Daniel Edward Rosen October 1, 2012 12:00 pm
reprintsEastdil Secured has been given the nod to sell 550 Madison Avenue for Sony after the electronics and entertainment giant announced it would be exploring a possible sale of the Class A office tower.
The real estate banking investment firm, which handled Google’s $1.8 billion purchase of 111 Eighth Avenue, beat out CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank for the right to sell 550 Madison Avenue, The New York Post reported.
Last month, Sony Corp. of America President Nicole Seligman sent an internal email to employees saying that the company would be exploring a potential sale of 550 Madison Avenue, which had “considerable value locked in it.”
“Combine that with the current real estate market conditions in New York and interest rates, and it’s wise to at least explore our options in the coming weeks and months,” Ms. Seligman added in her email.
If sold, the 716,660-square-foot building could fetch upwards of $1 billion in the market. Designed by Philip Johnson for AT&T, 550 Madison is famous for its top, which is said to look like a coin slot from a payphone but was just as often compared to a Chippendale dresser. It was the height of postmodern design, landing Johnson on the cover of Time, and it still holds a prominent place in the city’s skyline, even if few buildings now follow in its footsteps.
A call to Doug Harmon, senior managing director of Eastdil Secured, was not returned.
drosen@observer.com
