Teachers end talks over 25 Broadway

Real Estate Weekly, April 4, 2001 by Natalie Keith

The United Federation of Teachers' president has reportedly decided to end negotiations over a lease for 25 Broadway, according to published reports.

UFT president Randi Weingarten was reportedly negotiating with Newmark & Co. Real Estate Inc. for the tower portion of 25 Broadway, a 23-story, neo-Renaissance building built in 1921, Weingarten told the New York Post.

She had been discussing a $41 per square foot deal for the space, which would have totaled $11.48 million annually and $321 million for a 30-year deal. Weingarten, who is seeking re-election as president, decided to cancel the negotiations for political reasons. The union is currently negotiating raises for city teachers and was concerned that a hefty lease deal would offend some members. Retired and current teachers have until April 4 to return their union election ballots.

A spokesman for Newmark declined comment on the negotiations. A UFT spokesman also declined comment.

The union has reportedly been looking to move out of its existing headquarters on lower Park Avenue, which Weingarten said are old and small and would require renovation. To finance the lease deal at 25 Broadway, the UFT was looking to sell some of the three office buildings it owns on Park Avenue South, according to reports.

The Class A office at 25 Broadway, also known as the Standard & Poors Building, was formerly the flagship building for the Cunard Steamship Lines.

"This building possesses the elaborate architectural detail and old-world elegance suitable for prestigious tenants An impressive entrance draws tenants and visitors into a soaring lobby featuring an ornate vaulted ceiling. The Great Hall, where passengers on Cunard's great liners purchased their passage, is considered by architects and art critics to be one of the finest examples of vast building interiors in the city," according to a CoStar description of 25 Broadway.