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Friday February 26 6:28 PM ET
AT&T Mulls Sale Of New York Headquarters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T - news) said Friday it may sell its global headquarters building in Manhattan to reap the benefit of the city's soaring commercial real-estate values.
The 85-year-old landmark building, which could fetch up to $150 million, is located at 32 Avenue of the Americas, on the edge of the trendy Tribeca neighborhood of downtown Manhattan.
AT&T, the No. 1 U.S. long-distance company, has sent real estate companies ''requests for proposals'' in an effort to find a broker to possibly sell the property. AT&T may sell the building and lease back space for its workers.
''We have been in touch with Manhattan real estate companies. ...We're looking for advice from them on how or whether to proceed,'' said AT&T spokesman Burke Stinson.
''Commercial real estate value has been soaring in recent years. We're looking at our options,'' Stinson said.
The possible sale of the building is part of AT&T's efforts to trim expenses and follows a similar move by the former Woolworth Corp., now called Venator Group Inc. (NYSE:Z - news).
Venator sold the landmark Woolworth building last year for about $155 million, but still maintains offices there. The building's sale came as the Venator shut the Woolworth five-and-dime stores to focus on sportswear and footwear retailing.
AT&T has been the sole occupant since it constructed the building in 1914 to house its long-distance operations.
The property originally had 17 stories, but was later expanded to 26 stories of office space with additional floors on top, which contain telecommunications equipment.
The 1.1 million-square-foot building once had more than 5,000 workers, but now has only about 1,300 employees on site. AT&T shifted much of its staff to other locations, including Basking Ridge, N.J., where its primary operations are based.
The building contains many unique architectural details, such as a drape or curtain of bricks on its exterior. The inside lobby features a mosaic of the world, which was designed to symbolize AT&T's effort to bring communications across the world during an era when a interstate phone call was a novelty.
The building was declared a New York City landmark in 1991.
Shares of AT&T lost $2.31 to $82.125 on the New York Stock Exchange amid general weakness in the broader stock market. |
