NBC, which has flitted every which way in its citywide search for office space, and in the process has looked more like a butterfly than a peacock, might have just landed on as much as 200,000 square feet at 1633 Broadway in Midtown.
NBC’s real target had been Lehman Brothers’ 400,000 feet at the Time-Life Building at 1271 Avenue of the Americas, which it hoped to secure out of bankruptcy court.
But because the forlorn financial firm’s new parent Barclays also has space in the building, it didn’t make any sense to give up those digs.
This now likely adds at least the former New York Times Building on West 43rd Street, which is owned by Africa-Israel, and Macklowe Properties’ Worldwide Plaza – whose next ownership is still uncertain – back into play.
NBC has told employees it plans to consolidate and move various divisions from 30 Rock, 437 Madison Ave., Two Park Ave. and Chelsea Market over the next two years – first to the short-term space and then to a fitted-out permanent nest.
The TV network is leasing the space at 1633 Broadway directly from accounting giant Deloitte under a three-year, short-term deal.
Cushman & Wakefield is repping NBC and declined to comment.
Neither Deloitte’s in-house real estate rep, nor Barclay’s broker returned calls seeking comment.
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The site of James Gandolfini‘s wedding reception and the premiere party for the television series “Lipstick Jungle” is now fighting for its rights – air rights, that is.
Jim Brady, owner of the rooftop entertainment space, Studio 450 in Hudson Yards, is embroiled in a legal battle with his commercial co-op and Extell Development over who owns the penthouse unit’s development rights.
The tussle has already led Extell to back out of its $11 million deal with the co-op and halt work next door on what was to become a nearly 700,000-foot, snazzy glass tower at 360 Tenth Ave. between West 30th and West 31st streets.
Designed by architect Steve Holl, the CoStar listing pitched by Newmark Knight Frank shows a sleek angular skyscraper hovering just south of the stubby 450 W. 33rd St. that houses the Daily News and the Associated Press.
Holl’s offices, coincidentally, are located right under Studio 450.
The Extell building was to have a base of 140,000 feet of offices, a hotel and 155 luxury condominiums along with a connection to the hip and coming High Line.
The optimistic Web listing now says the ground-breaking will be in the first quarter of 2011.
Brady said that prior to declaring the co-op plan effective in 1980, the sponsor inserted into the second amendment of the offering plan a footnote to the schedule of units that read, “The 12th floor and roof unit shall have, in addition to the utilization of the roof, the right to construct or extend structures upon the roof or above the same to the extent that may from time to time be permitted under applicable law.”
Additionally, Brady’s formal co-op proprietary lease states that his block of shares gives him possession of the unit as described in the offering plan.
When he bought the unit for $5 million in 2005, the building was completely developed and the rights, other than to use the roof as is, were essentially worthless.
But when the Hudson Yards rezoning plan was finally instituted that year, the building ended up with 38,500 feet for as-of-right development.
Extell contracted with the co-op board to buy those rights along with the co-op’s ability to purchase more development rights through a zoning lot merger.
That effectively permitted Extell to buy an additional 131,500 feet in bonus rights from the city to construct its tall building next door.
But Brady and his wife Jane stepped in and said, “Not so fast!”
Brady says the co-op corporation doesn’t own the roof unit and has no right to sell the development rights conveyed to him through the offer ing plan and his proprietary lease.
“I’m sitting on a building lot that starts 13 stories up,” Brady said. “I want to use these rights. This is a strong, commercial building and can support the construction. I don’t want a huge towering building over me. Studio 450 is known for its views.”
Last year, courts denied motions to stop the development and on July 2 State Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman gave a summary judgment to the co-op.
Brady hired a new attorney, John Siegal of Baker Hostetler, who will re-argue the case tomorrow while an Appellate Division conference is scheduled for Friday.
“Our position that this question can be determined from the plain language of the property description and the law,” said Siegal. “If it cannot, then there should be discovery and the sponsor, and any other number of people may have testimony.”
Meanwhile, because of the lawsuit, Extell could not close on the contract by June 30, 2008, to meet the old 421a tax program deadline, so it backed out of the project, and the co-op returned its deposit.
Extell still owns the land next door and has a $28 million mortgage from Barclay’s.
Gary Barnett, Extell’s CEO, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Stuart Saft of Dewey & LeBoeuf, who represents many co-ops but is not involved in this matter, said Brady has a right to at least some of the new development rights and as a result the co-op should have at the very least obtained a waiver.
“The language [in the second amended offering plan] is so broad it would cover any kind of addition to the top of the building, but I don’t think it gives Brady the rights to take those development rights to trade them to an adjacent property,” Saft said.
