An Italian Snags the Flatiron

[sweet baby jesus]

Source: Time



Spurred by the weak dollar and the strong euro, European travelers to the U.S. have been lapping up everything from Gap boxers to iPhones to luxury condos in Palm Beach. Now a top Italian real estate investor has nabbed a crown piece of New York property, a sale that echoes the Japanese purchase of Rockefeller Center in 1989. Valter Mainetti has confirmed to TIME that his company, the Sorgente Group, has acquired a majority share of Manhattan's historic Flatiron building.

Among the first and, at the time, tallest of New York City's signature skyscrapers when it was completed in 1902, the 22-story Flatiron is instantly recognizable for its triangular shape at the intersection of Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and 23rd Street. Though it was dwarfed 30 years later by the Empire State building, 11 blocks up Fifth Avenue, the Flatiron is a favorite of architecture buffs and a lasting star in the skyline, featured in the opening credits of the David Letterman show and serving as the fictional headquarters for the Daily Bugle in the recent Spider-Man movies. It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1989. Though not quite the shock of the Mitsubishi Group's purchase of Rockefeller Center, the Flatiron's falling into foreign hands nevertheless carries symbolic weight as international investors take advantage of the upheaval in the real estate market and weakness of the U.S. dollar. The euro closed Monday at $1.56.

As bad as the U.S. housing bust has been, the falloff in sales has been cushioned by foreign buyers in such places as New York City and Florida. Anne Marie Moriarty, a vice president of Corcoran realtors, says residential real estate sales to foreigners have doubled in the past 15 months. The uptick in foreign interest helps explain why New York real estate prices are up 11% from last year in an otherwise tanking marketplace. "It's bucking the trend," says Moriarity of the Manhattan market. " see it as a long-term investment. Part of it for them is owning a piece of New York."



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1813198,00.html

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Wow this is the third one today. Sor far I have posted three major buys for US landmarks by non-US buyers:

First Anheuser-Busch was offered to a European company for $46.9B http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3348263&mesg_id=3348263

then the Chrysler Building is being bought by an Abu Dhabi group http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3347517&mesg_id=3347517

Next thing you know, Exxon will by the White House! oh... never mind.

[LSparkle]

1. And I hear a firm from Dubai is about to buy the Chrysler Building

I'm sorry but, especially after the demise of the
towers, I can't bear the thought that the majority
of what remains of the NYC skyline is owned by
foreigners.

Yep, call me an ISOLATIONIST but I'm also an
American and that makes me sick.

[Captain Hilts]

2. Jack Kent Cooke used to own my favorite skyscraper -Chrysler - and my fav team - Redskins.

Canadian!

[LSparkle]

3. Canadians: the best version of Americans!

I'm from northern California but have always LOVED it
when people mistook my accent for that of a Canadian ...
considering how liberal both regions are, I guess I
can understand my pride in that.

I work for a corporation that has been owned, at various
times during my tenure, by the Japanese, the Canadians
and the French. I must say I enjoyed the time under
Canadian "rule" the best!

[ben_meyers]

5. The Chrysler Bldg is already owned by a German co. n/t

[LSparkle]

6. Thom Hartmann mentioned in the past few days it was about to be sold ...

Thought it was to a Dubai(an?) firm. I sit corrected!

[ben_meyers]

9. Abu Dhabi Investment Council is buying the Chrysler Bldg

from a German firm.

[LSparkle]

10. Thanks for the update! I listen to Hartmann while driving to work

... probably had to concentrate on the road during
the part that mentioned the current owner.

[sweet baby jesus]

8. me have a linky in my posty....

tis true, tis true

[Zuiderelle]

4. Well, thank God. Someone has to buy our buildings and houses.

We can't afford to.

[Endangered Specie]

7. Appropriate since is does look like a slice of pizza

:sarcasm:

[Carnea]

11. Foreign investors always seem to buy NY Real estate at the peak.

Practically sank Japan 15 years ago.

[devilgrrl]

12. OT: I have a poster of The Flatiron by Edward Steichen (1907)

Gorgeous building.

[BrklynLib at work]

15. Stunning!

[On the Road]

13. This Right Here is holding the Ecnomy Up

Spurred by the weak dollar and the strong euro, European travelers to the U.S. have been lapping up everything from Gap boxers to iPhones to luxury condos in Palm Beach.

Those are exports, and they're injecting much-needed money into the economy. The cost is higher imports, but that's the only road back to normalcy.

[BB1]

14. Got 50 euros to spare?

I'll just go and buy myself Lower Manhattan...

[melm00se]

16. This is just money

that flowed out of the country (to buy the goods and services that were imported into the US) returning to the USA (buying goods and services that are available here). That's the cycle of trade.