Africa Israel has changed its plans to redevelop the great "Clock Tower" building that was built by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company on the southeast corner of 24th Street and Madison Avenue overlooking Madison Square Park and the Flatiron Building, according to an article by Theresa Agovino at crainsnewyork.com.

The article in crainsnewyork.com said that Richard Marin, the chairman and chief executive of Africa-Israel USA said the company is "working to secure financing so it can redevelop The Clock Tower...into condos." "The developer hopes to accomplish that by year's end, adding that "the project will be different from the one the company proposed in 2007" when it planned 55 large condominium apartments. The article said "now the units will still be luxury but there will be around 100 downscaled units" and that he hoped "to start selling the units in 2012."

One of the world's most distinctive skyscrapers, it was constructed in 1909 and served as the company's headquarters until 2005. When completed, it was the world's tallest building which it remained until 1913 when it was surpassed by the Woolworth Building.

Designed by the architectural firm of Napoleon LeBrun & Sons, the tower was modeled after the Campanile in Piazzo San Marco in Venice, Italy.

The building was designated a National Historic Landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 6, 1978 and was declared an official New York City landmark June 13, 1989.

The tower has four clock faces on the 25th through the 27th floors and each clock face is 26.5 feet in diameter and the minute hands weigh half a ton.

The original tower was sheathed in Tuckahoe marble, but a 1964 renovation reclad in limestone and removed considerable architectural detail.

A restoration project that ended in 2002 added a computerized lighting system to the tower.

The tower's elaborate beacon was long used the company's advertising as "The Light That Never Fails."

The article also stated that Africa-Israel USA is negotiating with "less than half a dozen" management companies about running the hotel portion of the former New York Times building and hopes to select one next month. It had acquired the large mid-block building at 229 West 43rd Street in 2007.

SL Green Realty Corp., RFR Holding LLC and Ian Schrager announced May 15, 2007 that they had sold the landmark North Building, or "Clock Tower," at Five Madison Avenue to Africa Israel for $200 million.

In a press release from SL Green, Marc Holliday, Chief Executive Officer for SL Green, said that "We've always been very excited about the potential of the North Building as a luxury residential property," adding that "But given its unique characteristics and the incredibly strong market demand for well-located and well-constructed real estate in Manhattan, we received many attractive offers. In the end the partnership couldn't ignore the opportunity to realize a substantial gain. The transaction provides our shareholders with a strong return on investment and allows us to direct resources to other initiatives."

SL Green acquired the 41-story, approximately 267,000-square-foot landmark in 2005, in conjunction with SL Green's acquisition of the adjacent 1.2-million-square-foot South Tower and over 400,000 square feet of air rights for additional development for a price reported to be $918 million.

Credit Suisse (USA), Inc. originally acted as co-developer with SL Green for the project, according to the SL Green press release, which said that Credit Suisse "subsequently converted its ownership position to a participating preferred equity position when it brought in partners RFR Holdings," which is headed by Aby Rosen, the owner of the Seagram Building and Lever House, and Michael Fuchs, and Ian Schrager, the developer of 40 Bond Street, "to pursue a possible luxury residential conversion for the North Tower, a project that was in the planning stages when the sale decision was made."