Tony Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings

From the February issue: The market for initial public offerings by real estate companies was hot in 2012. Companies like the real estate website Trulia, the private equity firm the Carlyle Group and Realogy — the largest residential brokerage franchiser in the world and the owner of the Corcoran Group and Citi Habitats — all made headlines by issuing blockbuster IPOs. Indeed, it was a good time to turn to Wall Street to raise money from the public markets, as the above-mentioned companies did, or to continue to reap the rewards of cash infusions as a real estate investment trust, or REIT. [more]

From left: 11 Times Square, 9 West 57th Street and 1333 Broadway (building credit: PropertyShark)

While global economic concerns have landlords of vacant U.S. retail spaces scrambling for any tenant, in Manhattan, landlords are patiently awaiting the perfect tenant for their trophy spaces, the Wall Street Journal reported.

For example, it’s not for lack of interest that the 55,000-square-foot retail space in SJP Properties’ 11 Times Square, at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, has sat vacant for two years. Rather the developer wants to land a big-name and raise the profile of the one million-square-foot tower. … [more]

The Malkin family is feuding again over a piece of the Empire State Building, this time with Skyride Associates, which runs the 16-year-old helicopter tour simulation ride on the second floor. According to the New York Times, the unlicensed street vendors who sell and promote the Kevin Bacon-narrated attraction have been the target of a recent police crackdown outside the building, having been issued 14 summonses and hit with six arrests since April, and Skyride believes the Malkins are the cause. On Monday, Skyride, which emerged from bankruptcy in February and pays more than $3.5 million annually in rent, filed a petition in State Supreme Court in Manhattan to stop the crackdown, as it says its vendors have never before needed licenses to sell tickets. Yesterday, a judge granted the company a temporary restraining order. Walter Threadgill, Skyride’s majority partner, told the Times that he thinks the Malkins are trying to oust the 15-minute attraction because it doesn’t fit with their recent efforts to revamp and rebrand the building with more upscale tenants. (The Real Deal chronicled the Malkins’ attempts to transform the building in the April issue.) … [more]

International beauty and fragrance giant Coty has leased an additional 101,736 square feet at the Empire State Building in order to consolidate its American headquarters, Tony Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings, owner and asset manager of the property, announced today.

The company, which represents brands such as Calvin Klein, Karl Lagerfeld and Kenneth Cole, currently occupies 86,000 square feet on the entire 14th floor of the iconic property, and most of the 15th floor. It will expand to also occupy the entire 16th and 17th floors in April 2012, when it relocates from its other spaces at One and Two Park Avenue, between 32nd and 33rd streets.

The asking rent was $49 per square foot, landlord W & H Properties told The Real Deal. TRD… [more]

Business networking platform LinkedIn has signed a seven-year deal to lease the Empire State Building’s entire 25th floor, Crain’s reported. The deal is a coup for the Malkin family, the owner and asset manager of the city’s most famous office building, which is still mostly filled with hundreds of tiny, mom-and-pop tenants. As The Real Deal chronicled in a profile of the building last month, the Malkins have been furiously trying to transform the 2.9 million-square-foot property into one that attracts the kind of big-name, big-money tenants that its 80-year history can command…. [more]

The Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is set to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification amidst its $550 million renovation to boost its sustainability. The changes are designed to decrease energy consumption by 38 percent, and include green features such as better-insulated windows and an upgraded air-conditioning system, according to Crain’s. Anthony Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings, an owner of the Empire State building and its assets manager, said that the changes were motivated by a desire to save energy and that the renovated building would merit a gold rating. A spokesperson for the U.S. Buildings Council, however, said that the organization does not disclose which rating a building will receive ahead of time. Malkin and his father Peter Malkin this week said they plan to create a publicly-traded company comprised of numerous New York City buildings, including the Empire State Building.
[Crain's]… [more]

Tony Malkin and the Empire State Building

Father and son owners of the Empire State Building, Peter and Tony Malkin, are planning to create a publicly traded company comprised of numerous New York City buildings in their real estate portfolio, according to the New York Times. At the forefront of the collection of buildings, is the city’s most famous tower. As previously reported by The Real Deal, since buying out their partners in the Empire State Building, the Malkins have ratcheted up their efforts, and have opened their wallets, to transform the building from an aging monument with hundreds of small tenants, to a leading destination for major New York City businesses. … [more]