Harry Helmsley and Villard Houses on Madison Avenue
A Renaissance revival six-story mansion that forms part of the historic Villard Houses at 455 Madison Avenue between 50th and 51st streets is available for lease for the first time, the Wall Street Journal reported. The building was formerly home to publisher Random House, the offices of the Archdiocese of New York, and the Municipal Art Society, the latter which left in 2009. [more]
From the August issue: During the boom, when no Manhattan neighborhood seemed vulnerable to the economy, hotel deals seemed to pop up on every corner of Manhattan — no matter how far-flung.
Now, though, as the market recovers, deal-making in Manhattan’s chief central business district — Midtown — has seen more hotel activity, and larger deals, than any other part of Manhattan, sources say.
The area — which stretches from 34th to 65th streets and river to river — has seen “a number of high-dollar-amount deals,” said John Fox, a hotel industry specialist at PKF Consulting.
A handful of these Midtown deals involve ground-up construction of new hotels, though most involve investors and developers snapping up older properties, including brands like the Algonquin and the Paramount, with the intention of renovating them.
Midtown’s hot streak has been partly fueled by hotel-focused real estate investment trusts. [more]
Midtown’s famed Palace Hotel is in contract to be sold to investment advisory firm Northwood Investors for around $400 million, or $445,000 per room, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The 30-year-old Palace, at 455 Madison Avenue, has only changed hands once before and is being sold by the Brunei Investment Agency, which bought the 899-room hotel in 1993. Northwood was founded by former Blackstone Real Estate CEO John Kukral, who said in a statement that he plans to “grow the [Palace] business and further enhance its stature as a world-renowned luxury hotel.” The deal is expected to close in mid-July. [more]
After 25 years, the Municipal Art Society of New York is swapping its Villard Houses headquarters at the Palace Hotel for the Steinway Hall Building at 111 West 57th Street. The non-profit urban design organization inked a 10-year, 12,749-square-foot lease for the 16th floor of the Warren & Wetmore-designed landmark, where it will replace architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, which is moving to Tishman Speyer’s 11 West 42nd Street. The entire Steinway Hall Building is in the midst of a rejuvenation right now, said Mark Lauzon of Cushman & Wakefield, who represented Steinway in the transaction. He said non-profits and foundations like the Municipal Art Society are flocking there in the wake of the Economist’s relocation to 730 Third Avenue. The asking rent on the new Municipal Art Society space was in the low $50s per foot. [more]
