From left: Charles Cohen, Anthony Malkin and 112 West 34th Street

A New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by landlord Charles Cohen against W&H Properties, the tenant at one of Cohen’s buildings at 112 West 34th Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, according to Crain’s.

Cohen alleged that W&H had violated its lease agreement, signed in 1963 and valid through 2077, by adding a new glass façade to the building without his permission. W&H pays $840,000 a year in rent, according to reports, a lot less than Cohen could get by renting it nowadays.
The judge said there was not sufficient evidence that W&H made structural changes to the building, Crain’s reported.
Cohen intends to appeal the decision, his lawyer said, but Anthony Malkin, president of W&H, predicted he wouldn’t be successful. [more]

From left: Developer Charles Cohen, 1400 Broadway and Anthony Malkin, president of W&H Properties

Developer Charles Cohen is suing W&H Properties, alleging that the company violated a long-term lease at its 1400 Broadway tower by failing to obtain permission to renovate the 38-story property between 38th and 39th streets, Crain’s reported. Cohen is seeking to have the lease terminated. The lease began in 1962 and could be extended all the way to 2063. Last week, the New York Times reported that Cohen was trying to terminate W&H Properties’ lease at 112 West 34th Street for the same reason. “We are seeing a pattern of arrogance from W&H,” said Warren Estis, a partner at Rosenberg & Estis, which is presenting Cohen. [more]

From left: Charles Cohen, Anthony Malkin and 112 West 34th Street

The $81 million Pinnacle Award-nominated renovation of 112 West 34th Street by father-and-son development duo Peter and Anthony Malkin may have won critical acclaim, but it wasn’t actually legal, according to developer Charles Cohen, who owns the building. In a new lawsuit, Cohen alleges that the Malkins’ W&H Properties, which has a 115-year lease on the property dating back to 1963, never got permission to make structural changes, as required by the terms of their agreement. As a result, Cohen is seeking to oust the Malkins and terminate their $840,000-a-year lease, according to the New York Times. [more]

Anthony Malkin and the Empire State building

Li & Fung, a Hong Kong-based trading company, signed a lease yesterday for 490,000 square feet in the Empire State Building, the largest deal of the new year and one which would have also topped last year’s list, the Post reported. The deal comes after months of negotiation between the landlord and tenant. The lease includes several floors in the base of the building, which has asking rents ranging from the mid-$40s a square foot to the high $50s, according to CoStar. Anthony Malkin, president of W&H Properties, which owns the Empire State Building, declined to comment, as did Li & Fung.
[more]

The stretch of 57th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue is poised to become a haven for discount fashion-seekers with the arrival of TJ Maxx in time for the 2010 holiday season, the Post reported. The retail chain has leased 28,000 square feet at W&H Properties’ 250 West 57th Street — the entire ground floor, second floor and part of the basement — for its third Manhattan location. W&H, which was asking $350 per square foot for the ground floor, had to relocate several tenants and rezone the property in order to accomplish the deal. TJ Maxx joins the Gap, which also recently signed a lease renewal on the block, but can breathe a sigh of relief because talks between rival discount clothier Kohl’s and Joseph Moinian for space at his 3 Columbus Circle across the street have reportedly fallen through. [Post]

Chart clarification: While CBRE data puts Durst’s portfolio at 7.2 million square feet, a Durst spokesperson later said that figure is actually 9 million.

Asking rents plunged for some of Midtown’s top landlords last year as they competed for the few tenants searching for space in a weak leasing market, but their reductions helped keep their vacancy rates below the market average, experts said. The family-owned Durst Organization dropped its asking rents to $60.82 per square foot in November 2009 from $113.15 per square foot in August 2008, near the pricing peak of the leasing market, according to the most recent data available on Midtown’s top 10 landlords from commercial services firm CB Richard Ellis. The Real Deal compared data from August 2008 to November 2009 for the top 10 landlords in Midtown ranked by square feet owned. The 46 percent decline was the steepest among Midtown’s top 10 landlords, who control 93 million square feet, or about 41 percent of the market. Landlord and tenant leasing broker Cynthia Wasserberger, a managing director at commercial firm Jones Lang LaSalle said the landlords cut prices to attract tenants and keep their buildings filled. “I think all the landlords got aggressive. They were pretty swift in their decision to respond to the market,” Wasserberger said. [more]

Shipping management company Fairfield-Maxwell is moving from the
Chrysler Building to 1 Grand Central Place, previously known as the
Lincoln Building. The company signed a 15-year lease for 9,550 square
feet, a slightly larger space than its current one. The asking rent for
the 60 East 42nd Street space was $65 per square foot. W & H
Properties, the building’s landlord, is trying to sign more
high-profile tenants, said Fred Posniak, senior vice president at W
& H Properties. [more]