Newsday
NEW YORK — It is an art-deco jewel that glimmers each night over the Manhattan skyline. Soon, the Empire State Building will shine for a new owner, a group of investors led by Manhattan real estate mogul Peter Malkin, who on Monday signed a contract to buy the landmark tower for $57.5 million from Donald Trump and his Japanese partners.
The purchase ends decades of contention and lawsuits over control of the 102-story skyscraper, once again the tallest in New York City since the Sept. 11 destruction of the World Trade Center.
Norma Foerderer, a spokeswoman for Trump, confirmed details of the sale, reported Tuesday in several publications. Malkin declined to comment because of a confidentiality agreement, a spokeswoman said.
Malkin’s group, Empire State Building Associates, holds a long-term master lease on the Manhattan icon, which had been owned by the late Japanese billionaire Hideki Yokoi since 1991, who secretly bought the building with businessman Oliver Grace. Yokoi’s daughter gained control in 1993 and one year later brought in Trump as a partner. Hideki Yokoi died in 1998.
Malkin, whose group includes Leona Helmsley, has had a 115-year master lease since 1961 that allowed them to rent out the office space in the building. Malkin’s group had been paying $1.97 million a year to the Trump-Japanese partnership. Those payments drop to $1.72 million in 2013.
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