Proof that the owners of the Empire State Building may finally be over the whole 15 Penn Plaza thing: they've moved on to big schemes for the future. Namely, a plan to allow people to buy a stake in the building. The Malkin family, which controls the building, hopes to create a publicly traded real estate company, the Times explains, which will include the Empire State Building as well as some of the family's other office properties. Maybe they're trying to raise money for a building even taller than 15 Penn?
Of course, the Malkins will first have to deal with the building's complicated ownership structure: the plan needs approval from the building's 3,400 limited partners and its principal partner, the estate of Leona Helmsley. But after that, getting buyers for the company stock should be breeze!
· Piece of the Empire State Building May Be Within Reach [NYT]
· Empire State Building coverage [Curbed]