125 West 55th Street

History

Development

The building, constructed by Fisher Brothers, cost $60 million in 1988 dollars. The Saint Thomas Choir School previously occupied the site, and moved into a new building at 202 West 58th Street.

Construction on 125 West 55th Street began in 1988. In order to capitalize on a City of New York zoning bonus, the developers planned to have the building's foundation installed by May 13, 1988; buildings in the area installed before a deadline in the northern hemisphere spring of 1988 received a 20% increase in size in order to spur development of western Midtown Manhattan. The developers planned to have tenants begin occupying the building in May 1989. The building was completed in 1990.

Use

In 1991, Air France leased 29500 sqft of space in the building. As of July 10, 1991, it was the largest lease in Manhattan in the year 1991. The airline had planned to move its Northeast United States headquarters, its U.S. reservation center, and its New York City ticket office to the building beginning in 1992. The lease included 27000 sqft of office space on the building's second floor and 2500 sqft of retail space on the first floor. Air France had its previous ticket office at 666 Fifth Avenue and its previous reservation department at 888 Seventh Avenue, and wanted a larger ticket office facility and overhauled reservation department offices. It moved both departments into 125 West 55th Street. Air France opted to move into 125 West 55th Street instead of spending $2.5 million to upgrade the telecommunications systems and remove asbestos at 888 Seventh Avenue; 125 West 55th Street came with the latest fiber optics systems and did not have asbestos. Air France has since closed the street-level retail ticket office.

Around the same time, Katz Media Group signed a lease for 170000 sqft of space in the building. As of November 24, 1991, the Katz lease was the fourth largest lease in New York City. During that year the National Bank of Canada and Credietbank were tenants in the building.

In the summer of 1992, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae moved 1,200 employees into the building. The firm had consolidated from several previous locations, and occupied eight floors and the concourse level. The 20-year lease was for 224000 sqft of space. The LeBouef deal, signed in 1991, was that year's second largest lease in New York City as of November 24, 1991.

Boston Properties acquired the building in 2008, for $444 million. In 2010, Katz Media Group renewed its lease until 2027, giving Katz more than one-third of the building space, with about 200000 sqft. In 2010 MetLife refinanced a portion of the debt of the building. As of 2011 the building was worth $345 million. In 2011 a former deputy of Harry Macklowe, former head of the Macklowe Group, filed a lawsuit against Macklowe, saying that Macklowe did not share the proceeds of the sale of 125 West 55th Street.

Design

Thomas L. Waite of The New York Times said in 1988, before the completion of the building, that the blue glass sheathing around it "may give it a pastoral sheen." Waite said that the design of 125 West 55th Street is similar to that of the Metropolitan Tower.

References

Notes

References

1. (April 25, 2013). "125 West 55th Sells for $470 M. Amid Push to Unload Class A Towers". Commercial Observer.
2. "Avenue of the Americas Plaza".
3. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20070226204816/http://www.macklowespace.com/specs/125w55_factsheet.pdf 125 West 55 Street Fact Sheet]." Macklowe Properties. February 26, 2007. Retrieved on February 24, 2011.
4. "[https://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3601/is_n49_v37/ai_11007329/ Air France leases 29,500 sf at Avenue of the Americas Plaza]." ''[[Real Estate Weekly]]''. July 10, 1991. Retrieved on February 24, 2011.
5. link. (2010-10-19 ." [[Boston Properties]]. Retrieved on February 25, 2011.)
6. Barnes, Edward Larrabee Barnes. (1994). "Edward Larrabee Barnes: Architect". [[Rizzoli International Publications]].
7. Deutsch, Claudia H. "Commercial Property: Avenue of the Americas; From Corporate Corridor to Boulevard of Barristers." ''[[The New York Times]]''. April 4, 1993. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEEDA1F3CF937A35757C0A965958260 1]. Retrieved on February 24, 2011.
8. "[http://corporate.airfrance.com/uploads/media/airfrance_in_the_united_states-02_01.pdf Air France in the United States] {{webarchive. link. (2011-01-06 ." [[Air France]]. June 11, 2007. 15 (15/16). Retrieved on February 13, 2010. "The Air France “United States” regional management is located in New York: 125 West 55th Street, New York, NY 10019")
9. "[http://www.airfrance.us/US/en/local/resainfovol/meilleuresoffres/marketing_Week_of_Romance.htm Week of Romance Facebook Contest] {{Webarchive. link. (March 8, 2011 ." Air France. Retrieved on March 2, 2011. "Sponsor: Air France USA Executive Office, 125 West 55th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10019.")
10. "[http://www.macquarie.com/us/contacts_directory.htm Contact directory United States] {{webarchive. link. (February 20, 2011 ." [[Macquarie Bank]]. Retrieved on February 24, 2011. "125 West 55th Street New York, NY 10019.")
11. https://architectureplusinformation.com/iheart-media
12. "[http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/boston-properties-scores-200-000-sf-lease-renewal-at-125-west-55th-street Boston Properties scores 200,000 sf lease renewal at 125 West 55th Street]." ''[[The Real Deal (magazine). The Real Deal]]''. Retrieved on February 25, 2011.
13. Foderaro, Lisa. "A Trade-Up for St. Thomas Choir School." ''[[The New York Times]]''. August 23, 1987. [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40717FC3A580C708EDDA10894DF484D81 1]. Retrieved on February 24, 2011.
14. Waite, Thomas L. "[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0715F83C550C708DDDAA0894D0484D81 POSTING: Choir School Site; Offices by Macklowe]." ''[[The New York Times]]''. March 13, 1988. Retrieved on February 23, 2011.
15. Dunlap, David W. "Commercial Property: 125 West 55th Street; The Anatomy of a Macklowe Tower Leasing Coup." ''[[The New York Times]]''. November 24, 1991. [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/24/realestate/commercial-property-125-west-55th-street-anatomy-macklowe-tower-leasing-coup.html 1]. Retrieved on February 25, 2011.
16. Dunlap, David W. "Commercial Property: 125 West 55th Street; The Anatomy of a Macklowe Tower Leasing Coup." ''[[The New York Times]]''. November 24, 1991. [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/24/realestate/commercial-property-125-west-55th-street-anatomy-macklowe-tower-leasing-coup.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm 2]. Retrieved on February 25, 2011.
17. Deutsch, Claudia H. "[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00615FE3C5C0C728FDDA90994DB494D81 Commercial Property: Upgraded Services; Using Fiber Optics to Attract -- or Keep -- Tenants]." ''[[The New York Times]]''. October 31, 1993. Retrieved on March 2, 2011.
18. Weil, Dan. "[http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/awash-with-insurance-cash Awash with insurance cash]." ''[[The Real Deal (magazine). The Real Deal]]''. February 1, 2011. Retrieved on February 24, 2011.
19. Jones, David. "[http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/ex-macklowe-exec-warren-cole-alleges-proceeds-withheld-from-sale-of-125-west-55th-street-to-boston-properties Ex-Macklowe exec alleges proceeds withheld from West 55th Street building sale]." ''[[The Real Deal (magazine). The Real Deal]]''. February 24, 2011. Retrieved on February 24, 2011.