Posted on 03/19/2002 7:54:37 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
An investor group that holds the lease on the Empire State Building has agreed to purchase the building from real estate magnate Donald Trump and his partner for $57.5 million, Trump's spokeswoman said Tuesday. The spokeswoman, Norma Foerderer, confirmed reports in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times that Empire State Building Associates, which is controlled by real estate investor Peter Malkin, will buy the 102-story landmark.
Malkin's group already holds a lease on the building through 2076.
For the first time since 1961, the same group of investors will own the building and control the long-term lease. That means the building could be sold more easily and could ensure better financing terms.
The terms of the deal apparently give Trump and his partner, Japanese billionaire Hideki Yokoi, more than $6 million of the sale's proceeds, plus additional expenses.
The closing was expected to take place next month.
The low sale price of the building, experts have said, is attributable to the long-term lease that generates relatively little revenue for the owner. Under the 114-year lease drawn up in 1961, the owner receives $1.97 million a year in rent, decreasing to $1.72 million a year until 2076.
Since the manager of the building will remain the same, little was expected to change for the 950 tenants and 20,000 workers.
The Sept. 11 attacks that collapsed the World Trade Center's twin towers made the Empire State Building once again the tallest building in the city.
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