Elevator accident may make Madison Avenue tower a tough sell


From left: 3 Columbus Circle, 285 Madison Avenue and Suzanne Hart

Advertising agency Young & Rubicam had announced plans to vacate its 285 Madison Avenue building to move to 3 Columbus Circle before a tragic elevator accident killed one of its executives at the Madison Avenue building last week, the Wall Street Journal reported. The agency was planning to put the building on the market next year, according to a spokesperson for CBRE Group, which has been tapped to market the property.

In the wake of the accident, which killed 41-year-old executive Suzanne Hart, the brokerage may have a harder time selling the property, sources said.

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“This will definitely affect the stigma of the building,” says Craig Nassi, founder of BCN Development.


SL Green Realty
, one of the owners of 3 Columbus Circle, may opt to buy the building; as part of Y&R’s lease deal, SL Green negotiated an option to Buy The Madison Avenue tower, which sources say requires a gut-rehabilitation. SL Green declined to comment. [WSJ]