Is the $200-a-square-foot office space in trophy towers the new $12 dollar movie ticket—a galling, nerve-grating development that a mere 12 months later becomes the widely accepted paradigm?

At 9 West 57th Street—the stylish Sheldon Solow tower on Fifth Avenue—three firms have recently signed leases at more than $200 a foot, according to a source familiar with the transactions. The source insisted this was “not a story. You’ll start to see that number at the GM Building.”

In a way, that source is right. Rumors of prices like this surface now and again.

And it’s not as though we’re talking Class B space here.  read more »

West 57th Street is to its easterly counterpart what a deer-hunting, RV-driving homeowner is to his McMansion-owning neighbor—an embarrassment.  read more »

New York State’s highest court today ruled against developer Sheldon Solow in a case that should have repercussions for fire-insurance holders nationwide.

In a unanimous decision, the New York State Court of Appeals ruled that when a lease requires a tenant to purchase fire insurance, that insurance cannot specifically exclude damages caused by terrorism.

The case, TAG 380, LLC v ComMet 380, Inc., involved none other than legendarily litigious New York developer Sheldon Solow, a tenant of ComMet, the fee-owner of 380 Madison Avenue.

Following September 11, when terrorism insurance prices shot through the roof, Mr. Solow’s insurance policy was coming up for renewal. ComMet asked that Mr. Solow purchase insurance that included damages caused by terrorism, even if though Mr. Solow's lease did not explicity mention the word "terrorism."

Mr. Solow instead purchased fire insurance that explicity excluded terrorism coverage. He argued that the fire insurance language in the lease could not be construed to encompass terrorism damages.

Today, the Court of Appeals refuted Mr. Solow's argument.  read more »

First there was the renaming of the New York Public Library’s main branch for Blackstone’s Steven Schwarzman – he gave the temple of books $100 million for the honor.

And tonight, NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a black-tie dinner honoring Sheldon Solow, who last summer donated two floors of a townhouse, worth $2 million, to the Institute. The school will use the additional space to create a Sheldon H. Solow Library and Study Center.

Can we expect a Jerry Speyer library next?  read more »

For many Turtle Bay residents, the fatal crane collapse at 303 East 51st Street on March 15 was more than just an accident that should have been prevented: It was three years of frenzied residential development come home to roost.

A New York Post column published the morning after began, “Katherine Hepburn must be turning in her grave,” in reference to the late actress and one of the more famous Turtle Bay locals. “Shoddy construction by greedy moneymen is destroying the whole Turtle Bay area around Second Avenue, filling the neighborhood she loved with countless world-class ugly buildings,” Linda Stasi wrote. “What they’ve done to Second Avenue in the last few years is criminal. Yesterday it turned deadly.”

Like most neighborhoods in Manhattan, many new condos have gone up recently in Turtle Bay—the area roughly between 42nd and 53rd streets east of Lexington Avenue—and more projects are in the pipeline. But aside from the recently arrested buildings inspector, no criminal activity has been linked to the other developments. Bruce Silberblatt, vice president of the neighborhood residents’ group the Turtle Bay Association, rattled off at least 11 residential projects that are in various stages of development or have recently come on-line.  read more »

Developer Sheldon Solow received a key vote from a City Council subcommittee this morning, clearing the path, seven years after he agreed to buy the land, for him to build a $4 billion set of towers just south of the United Nations.

Mr. Solow’s plan, modified some in an agreement with local Councilman Daniel Garodnick, will bring seven towers to the 9.2-acre former Con Edison site, a site that is perhaps Manhattan’s largest single privately owned tract of undeveloped land.  read more »

With negotiations ongoing between Councilman Daniel Garodnick and developer Sheldon Solow, today yielded yet another scheduled-then-canceled City Council vote on the proposed $4 billion mixed-use project just south of the United Nations.

Another vote is scheduled for tomorrow at 9 a.m., and this one can only be pushed by a matter of hours, as the Council must vote on the project tomorrow if it is to be approved.

If it is not to be approved, the land would retain its current zoning for industrial uses, and development of the residential and office towers desired by Mr. Solow would be impossible.

It’s been some time since the city’s seen a land use spat come down to the wire like it's seeing in Murray Hill. Developer Sheldon Solow, with a $4 billion plan to build seven towers just south of the United Nations, has two days left to gain City Council approval for a zoning change before his application expires; and it seems an agreement with local Council member Daniel Garodnick has yet to be reached.

The Council missed two scheduled votes on the issue last week, and now has another tentatively scheduled for tomorrow. An aide to Mr. Garodnick said discussions are ongoing. The hard deadline for approval is Wednesday, according to a spokeswoman for the Department of City Planning.  read more »

Despite the national housing market crisis and some serious global competition, Manhattan real estate moguls maintained a commanding presence in the billionaires club in 2008, according to Forbes’ annual list.

Donald Trump fell from No. 314 in 2007 to 368 this year with a net worth of $3 billion. The founder of Related Companies, Stephen Ross, jumped from No.  read more »

My, Sheldon Solow is busy these days.

It’s now the 11th hour for his $4 billion East River development, which faces an up or down vote before the City Council tomorrow; and best and final bids are due tomorrow for one of the country’s most watched skyscrapers, the GM Building, a tower Mr. Solow claims he rightfully owns.  read more »