Blackstone Group and Park Tower Realty formed a joint venture Friday to buy sites available for office development in New York’s Times Square area, the latest sign of the turnaround of “the crossroads of the world.”
With the backing of investment bank Blackstone, Park Tower Chairman George Klein has another chance to fulfill a 15-year dream of being a leader in the redevelopment of the neon-lit area seen on TV sets around the world each New Year’s Eve.
Times Square, which had been populated by sex shops and pornography theaters, is drawing billions of dollars of new investment from developers and entertainment and media companies such as Walt Disney Co. and Reuters Holdings PLC, who are attracted to the city’s efforts to clean up the area as well as hefty tax breaks.
“We predict the Times Square area will become a big urban theme park over the next few years with 42nd Street all the way down to the Hudson (River) becoming nothing but entertainment,” said Stephen Schofel, senior managing director of real estate services firm GVA Williams Ltd. Forest City Enterprises Inc. is building a $70 million entertainment and shopping complex on 42nd Street; Disney opened its own Broadway theater in the area.
Plus, Disney’s ABC Inc. television broadcasting unit, taking a page from NBC’s success with its “Today” show, plans to open a studio on the southeast corner of Times Square in hopes the neon signs and crowds will draw more viewers to its “Good Morning America” show.
Developers are rushing to buy and build office space to meet the demand for space in the area.
