It looks like New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission
might cause a wrinkle in the sale of American International Group Inc.'s (NYSE:AIG) 70 Pine St. headquarters along with 72 Wall St.
According to the
New York Post, the Landmarks Conservancy is asking the Landmarks Preservation Commission chairman to consider the building as a landmark.
"David Childs, designer of the new 1 World Trade
Center and the new chairman of the Municipal Art Society, called 70
Pine 'one of the prides of the city. It needs whatever protection it
can have. The powers that be should do something now to see that it's
recharged, reactivated, but saved for all the important architectural
aspects.' "
The commission hopes to work with the new owner to preserve the architecture of the building, but plans to change the building could already be in the works, according to the report.
"Those who love 70 Pine St. fear that although demolition is highly
unlikely, a new owner could ruinously alter its appearance.My colleague Lois Weiss has reported that the
unidentified buyers, possibly Russian or Asian, might turn 70 Pine and
72 Wall -- a 16-story building linked to it by a skybridge -- into a
mixed-use development including residential and retail."
If commission does throw a kink in the sale, AIG still has plenty of other real estate properties and assets to sell off in order to pay back its $180 billion bailout. After all, not every bailed-out institution is lucky enough to have its building considered a landmark: Boston Properties stripped 601 Lexington Ave. of the name Citigroup Center earlier this month, in hopes of a "prestigious tenancy." - Maria Woehr
Continue reading below
