A commercial building with alleged ties to the Iranian government is attempting to lease out 140,000 square feet of vacant space, according to the Observer.
In 2008, the 36-story 650 Fifth Avenue building near Rockefeller Center, formerly known as the Piaget Building, was alleged by the U.S. Justice Department to be 40 percent owned by Assa Corporation: a shell company the government believed was run by Iran’s Bank Melli. Bank Melli is accused of being a backer of Iran’s nuclear and weapons programs, with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Quds Force.
A leasing team from CBRE has replaced Jones Lang LaSalle to handle marketing the commercial space.
650 Fifth Avenue Company, recently spent $11 million to put it place a new lobby and elevators, designed by architectural firm Swanke Hayden Connell. But because of the building’s history all expenditures are being overseen by a federally appointed monitor, the Observer reported. [NYO] – Christopher Cameron