A Booming Real Estate Market Gives Harry Macklowe the Last Laugh [Manhattan]
When Harry Macklowe, the scion of one of New York’s most prominent real estate families, paid $1.4 billion in September 2003 for the General Motors Building on Fifth Avenue between 58th and 59th streets, people laughed at what seemed like an outrageous price.
While just three years ago the idea that a New York City office building could be worth more than $1 billion seemed preposterous, today real estate experts say the very same building could be worth more than $3 billion.
Last week’s announcement that Tishman Speyer’s office building at 666 Fifth Ave. would sell to the Kushner Companies for a record-setting $1.8 billion, or roughly $1,200 a square foot, is the latest symbol of New York’s dynamic real estate market, and provides further evidence that Mr. Macklowe’s big gamble on the GM Building has paid off.
The 50-story trophy property lies in the center of Midtown Manhattan, overlooking the Plaza Hotel building and Central Park. Built in 1968, the GM Building is considered to be one of the members of the city’s exclusive “country club,” a group of upscale office buildings with desirable addresses that attract the richest tenants, such as hedge funds, and charge the highest rents.