Tommy Hilfiger is in contract to buy 5 Madison Avenue, the clocktower building that was once the city's tallest, for $170 million, according to an article today by Craig Karmin and Eliot Brown at wsj.com.
The building was sold by Africa Israel USA, which did not disclose the buyer in securities documents filed Thursday in Israel, where the developer's parent company is based, the article said, adding that "people familiar with the matter said the buyer is Tommy Hilfiger" and "a Tommy Hilfiger spokesman did not respond to requests for comment."
Africa Israel had planned to turn the landmark into a luxury condominium before selling it.
"Tommy Hilfiger, which was bought by clothing conglomerate Phillips-Van Heusen last year, has been looking to expand into the hotel business. Some real-estate executives believe that the firm bought the building at 5 Madison Avenue, known as the Clock Tower building, with an eye toward converting it into a hotel. The company at one point looked at the landmark Chelsea Hotel, which was put up for sale last year, but decided not to bid on it, according to a person familiar with the matter," the article said.
Designed by Napoleon LeBrun & Sons, the 700-foot-high tower that was modeled on the Campanile in Venice was built in 1909 and was the world's tallest building until 1913 when it was surpassed by the Woolworth Building. Until 2005, it was the world headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
"Modelled after the clock tower of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, this 50-storey tower also has bells atop - four bronze bells, sounding off H¿ndel every fifteen minutes during the day and the evening. The upper portion of the regularly fenestrated shaft sports an 8-meter diameter clock face on every facade. The pyramidal roof with its lantern top is lit at night. Originally clad in marble facing, the facade material of the tower was replaced with limestone in a 1964 renovation by Lloyd Morgan, along with general simplification of the base decor. The interior decor comprises 14 murals by painter Newell Covers Wyeth who was paid a generous $5 per square foot for his services," according to in-arch.net.
The building was declared a New York City landmark in 1989.
The clocktower was part of a full-block property that SL Green Realty Corporation acquired from MetLife for $918 million in 2005. Initially, Ian Schrager and Aby Rosen's RFR Holding LLC entered into a joint venture arrangement with SL Green Realty Corporation to convert the building and Schrager described the project as a "very high-end hotel, more like a private club."
In 2007, Africa Israel, an Israeli-owned company owned by Lev Leviev, purchased the Clocktower from SL Green Realty Corporation for $200 million. The Clocktower's address was changed to 5 Madison Avenue when it was sold to Africa Israel, which planned to convert into about 55 condominium apartments with interior design by Versace.
In October 1929, Met Life announced plans for another building to the opposite side of 24th Street, at 11-25 Madison Avenue. It would have replaced McKim, Mead & White's Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, with a new tower of around 100 stories, but the Depression brought work to a halt in 1933 at 29 stories.
In other developers, Tommy Hilfinger's "pop-up House" showcasing his "prep world" collection opened for a week today in Gansevoort Plaza at Little West 12th Street and Ninth Avenue.
The building was sold by Africa Israel USA, which did not disclose the buyer in securities documents filed Thursday in Israel, where the developer's parent company is based, the article said, adding that "people familiar with the matter said the buyer is Tommy Hilfiger" and "a Tommy Hilfiger spokesman did not respond to requests for comment."
Africa Israel had planned to turn the landmark into a luxury condominium before selling it.
"Tommy Hilfiger, which was bought by clothing conglomerate Phillips-Van Heusen last year, has been looking to expand into the hotel business. Some real-estate executives believe that the firm bought the building at 5 Madison Avenue, known as the Clock Tower building, with an eye toward converting it into a hotel. The company at one point looked at the landmark Chelsea Hotel, which was put up for sale last year, but decided not to bid on it, according to a person familiar with the matter," the article said.
Designed by Napoleon LeBrun & Sons, the 700-foot-high tower that was modeled on the Campanile in Venice was built in 1909 and was the world's tallest building until 1913 when it was surpassed by the Woolworth Building. Until 2005, it was the world headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
"Modelled after the clock tower of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, this 50-storey tower also has bells atop - four bronze bells, sounding off H¿ndel every fifteen minutes during the day and the evening. The upper portion of the regularly fenestrated shaft sports an 8-meter diameter clock face on every facade. The pyramidal roof with its lantern top is lit at night. Originally clad in marble facing, the facade material of the tower was replaced with limestone in a 1964 renovation by Lloyd Morgan, along with general simplification of the base decor. The interior decor comprises 14 murals by painter Newell Covers Wyeth who was paid a generous $5 per square foot for his services," according to in-arch.net.
The building was declared a New York City landmark in 1989.
The clocktower was part of a full-block property that SL Green Realty Corporation acquired from MetLife for $918 million in 2005. Initially, Ian Schrager and Aby Rosen's RFR Holding LLC entered into a joint venture arrangement with SL Green Realty Corporation to convert the building and Schrager described the project as a "very high-end hotel, more like a private club."
In 2007, Africa Israel, an Israeli-owned company owned by Lev Leviev, purchased the Clocktower from SL Green Realty Corporation for $200 million. The Clocktower's address was changed to 5 Madison Avenue when it was sold to Africa Israel, which planned to convert into about 55 condominium apartments with interior design by Versace.
In October 1929, Met Life announced plans for another building to the opposite side of 24th Street, at 11-25 Madison Avenue. It would have replaced McKim, Mead & White's Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, with a new tower of around 100 stories, but the Depression brought work to a halt in 1933 at 29 stories.
In other developers, Tommy Hilfinger's "pop-up House" showcasing his "prep world" collection opened for a week today in Gansevoort Plaza at Little West 12th Street and Ninth Avenue.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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