The Bad News is Real Estate is hard to move (today), The Good News is Real Estate is Impossibe to Move (away)! - Landmark Sold to Chinese Buyer

Landmark Sold to Chinese Buyer - WSJ.com

12/21/2010 By JOSH BARBANEL

The neoclassical building at 70 Broad St. The landmark structure was once headquarters of American Bank Note Co. and has been sold to a Chinese company.

The American Bank Note Building, a five-story granite landmark in the heart of the Financial District, a block from the New York Stock Exchange, has been sold to a Chinese construction company for $18 million, brokers said.

The striking neoclassical building at 70 Broad St., once the headquarters of a company that produced bank notes, currency and stock certificates, was put on the market a year ago by a Transcendental Meditation group.

It was listed last year by Danielle Grossenbacher, a broker at Brown Harris Stevens, for $45 million as a mansion for a Wall Street mogul with 15,218 square feet of space and three-story Greek columns. But within four months the asking price was cut. A commercial broker—Stanley Conway, formerly of Halstead Property—shared the listing.

Brokers identified the purchaser at a closing on Monday as a Chinese investment and construction company that paid far below the final asking price of $25.5 million.

Jennifer Lo, a broker at Prudential Douglas Elliman who represented the buyers, declined to identify the company. But she said the site would be used as a headquarters for the company, while three residences above would be used as apartments for executives.

The building was sold by a foundation, Global Country of World Peace, set up by the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the guru of Transcendental Meditation who came to fame as a spiritual adviser to the Beatles and other celebrities.

It was originally intended to be a headquarters for an outreach effort targeting Wall Street executives and investment bankers to promote fund raising for organic farms, hospitals and clinics in developing countries.

But over time, the building became a large center for Transcendal Meditation, according to Janet Hoffman, a director of New York meditation programs, and too expensive to operate. "Financial obligations world-wide made this building a bit of a burden," she said.

Still it appears as if the foundation made a gain on the sale. It paid $5.5 million for the building in 2004, at a time when the downtown economy was still suffering in the aftermath of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.

It borrowed millions more with the help of the city's Industrial Development Agency to renovate the space.

Bob Roth, a spokesman for the group, said that the proceeds would be plowed back into programs. A new mediation center is due to open nearby on Beaver Street next month.

The building, located on a narrow site with street frontage on three sides, was constructed in 1908, a time when financial institutions put up monumental structures to emphasize their trustworthiness. American Bank Note sold the building in 1988, and it was subsequently used as restaurant.

Write to Josh Barbanel at josh.barbanel@wsj.com

Historical Financial District Landmark on Sale for $25 Million

July 2, 2010

The historical building that once housed the American Bank Note Company is up for sale in the financial district.

By Ben Fractenberg

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

FINANCIAL DISTRICT — The historical neo-classical granite building that once housed the American Bank Note Company is up for sale in the financial district.

The building at 70 Broad Street, which was given historical landmark status in 1997, is on the market for a cool $25.5 million as a residential, office, retail or mixed-use building. The five-story, 15,218 square foot landmark was built in 1908 and renovated in 2009, according to realtor Brown Harris Stevens.

The five-story building was built in 1908 and renovated in 2009. (DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg)

The site was originally constructed as the headquarters for the ABNC. The company was one of the most influential producers of bank notes, stamps, stock certificates, and letters of credit during the late nineteenth century.

The corporation sold the building in 1988. The site then served, of all things, as a fast food facility for several years before being remodeled as a restaurant in 1996.

The late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi — of Beatles guru fame — purchased the building in 2004, turning it into part of his Global Country of World Peace.

The top floor has a full-floor two-bedroom residence, so if you’re looking for a place to raise the kids and work from home like the robber barons of yore, this could be the place — though you’ll probably have to buy the top hat and monocle yourself.

The building also houses something called the “Cisco Tele-Presence conference room,” which sounds rather futuristic and a tad bit scary.

The price has already been lowered twice, Curbed reported in April. So hopefully the building can use some of its Yogi good vibes to lure a buyer.

Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/20100702/financial-district-battery-park-city/historical-financial-district-landmark-on-sale-for-25-million#ixzz18qu6NZCh