An article by Steve Cuozzo in today's edition of The New York Post reported that The Chetrit Group has "apparently switched gears and now hopes to re-market the linked properties at 200 Fifth Avenue and 1107 Broadway as office buildings" rather than convert them to residential condominium apartments.

"In recent weeks, multiple courses say, Chetrit has discussed finding large-block office users with several major commercial brokerages - a change form his oft-stated intention to redo the buildings as luxury condos," the article continued.

The Chetrit Group had "no comment" about any change in plans to residential convert the properties that formerly comprised the International Toy Center, Anna LaPorte of Rubenstein Associates, a spokesperson for Chetrit, told CityRealty.com this afternoon.

The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a certificate of appropriateness last September for a two-story, roof-top addition to 200 Fifth Avenue.

The commission had previously disapproved the planned addition, but the plans were subsequently revised by Avinash Malhotra, the project's architect, and the new plan had less square footage and was about five feet lower.

The building is on the northwest corner at 23rd Street and along with the 16-story building at 1107 Broadway on the northwest corner at 24th Street comprised the former International Toy Center complex that was acquired for about $355 million last year by The Chetrit Group from a partnership headed by Peter Malkin.

The Chetrit Group's plans for converting the two-building complex, which is now called Madison Park West, involved about 460 residential condominium apartments about two-thirds of which will be in the 200 Fifth Avenue building.

Last March, the City Planning Commission in last week approved a rezoning for the two-block complex to permit the conversion of the commercial buildings to residential use.

The special permit also affects two, smaller, adjacent, mid-block buildings owned by The Chetrit Group and allows the creation of a 54-car garage in the northern building.

According to the resolution passed by the Commission March 8, "The Commission believes that the proposed amendment to the Zoning Map recognizes the evolving nature of the Madison Square Park neighborhood and more accurately reflects existing conditions in the area. The Commission also believes the proposed rezoning would help contribute to the city's ongoing efforts to increase its supply of housing without disrupting businesses found on the Fifth to Sixth Avenue mid-blocks adjacent to the rezoning area."

Much of the eastern portion of the two large buildings allowed residential conversions but not the far western portions.

At one point, the Chetrit Group, contemplated creating a 1,300-room hotel and several hundred small rental apartments in the two buildings and there was considerable controversy over the fate of the toy industry in the city.

The 670,592-square-foot building at 200 Fifth Avenue was built in 1909 and designed by Maynicke & Franke. It replaced the Fifth Avenue Hotel was opened in 1859 by Amos F. Eno and was initially known as 'Eno's Folly' because the area was considered too far uptown.

The 16-story, 337,000-square-foot building at 1107 Broadway was erected in 1915 and was designed by H. Craig Severance and W. Van Alen. It replaced the Albemare Hotel and it was joined to 200 Fifth Avenue by a skybridge in 1968.