Three-alarm blaze at 510 Madison
February 10, 2009 05:10PM By Adam Pincus
510 Madison Avenue after the fire (Source: Lois Weiss)
A three-alarm fire broke out last night on the second floor of Macklowe Properties' 30-story office tower under construction at 510 Madison Avenue at 53rd Street, a New York Fire Department spokesperson said.
The fire was called in just before 10:30 p.m. while no work was being performed at the site, and was officially brought under control at about 2 a.m. today, the spokesperson said. There were no injuries, and the cause of the fire remained under investigation, he said.
The 350,000-square-foot, speculative project is financed by a $329 million construction loan financed by Deutsche Bank and Union Labor Life Insurance. Planned amenities for the project, which was originally conceived as a hotel, include a swimming pool, private gym and business lounge.
The city's Department of Buildings issued a full stop-work order at the site today because of the ongoing investigation by the Fire Department, said Kate Lindquist, a spokesperson for the city agency.
"It will remain in place until work is safe to proceed," she said.
The DOB Web site said the fire department requested a structural stability review today because of the blaze.
A spokesman for Macklowe Properties, Steven Solomon, said it was an electrical fire, and did not cause significant damage, but did destroy the safety glass on four floors. The delays to the construction process would be minimal, he said.
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Comments
Anonymous
sounds like another harry late night demolition special (burn down the building and collect insurance).
Comment #1 Posted By: Anonymous 02/10/09
Anonymous
I think that loan is about to come due. It was made last February. After his late-night demolition, in the mid-eighties, there was a fire in one of the remaining properties on the site, where there were squatters. This is highly suspicious.
Comment #2 Posted By: Anonymous 02/10/09
Anonymous
was swiggy playing with matches ?
Comment #3 Posted By: Anonymous 02/15/09