One of New York City's iconic edifices, the Lipstick Building, is on the Auction Block. Bloomberg reported on March 24 that the 34-story building known for its crown of telescoping elliptical cylinders reminiscent of a lipstick container is up for sale. Bloomberg speculates the commercial property could fetch as much as $600 million. The sellers are Tishman Speyer and Prudential Financial, which jointly own the office building. Tishman acquired the building, located on 53rd Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan, with New York City Employees Retirement System for $235 million in 2004. According to Bloomberg, buildings in that area of Manhattan are receiving $1,000 for each square foot. If the 587,000 square-foot building sold at that rate, Tishman and Prudential would share a hefty $352 million profit before taxes in just three years. Those numbers are definitely achievable considering the hot commercial real estate market in New York and around the U.S. But it also helps that CB Richard Ellis Group will market the Lipstick Building. CB Richard marketed the largest real estate deal ever, selling Peter Cooper Village/Stuyvesant Town to Tishman and BlackRock Realty for $5.4 billion in October 2006.
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