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W42ST.nyc
Lenders Foreclose on Hell’s Kitchen’s Landmarked McGraw-Hill Building
By Catie Savage and Dashiell Allen,
20 hours ago
The McGraw-Hill Building on W42nd Street is facing foreclosure after owners Deco Towers Associates allegedly defaulted on a $140 million loan package meant to convert a portion of the office tower into residential units.
The architects of the project planned to recreate the original entryway to the McGraw-Hill building. Rendering: MdeAS Architects
Lenders Blackstone and Rialto Capital have initiated foreclosure proceedings against the owners in two separate complaints filed on Tuesday and Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court, Commercial Observer first reported. If successful, they would take possession of the building.
Built in 1932, the same year as the Empire State Building, the iconic 35-story office tower (330 W42nd St, bw 8/9th Ave) was one of the most pronounced markers of the New York City skyline for decades. It was originally the home of McGraw-Hill publishers, before being taken over as the offices for the Service Employees International Union. It has sat largely empty since 2020, when the union left.
The McGraw-Hill Building stands out along W42nd Street with its Art Deco lettering on the crown. Photo: Phil O’Brien
Now-defunct Signature Bank initially made the loans in 2019, which were later taken over by Blackstone and Rialto Capital. Resolution Real Estate Partners, an asset management company, had planned on embarking on a $120 million gut renovation of the building the next year, according to Commercial Observer.
In February 2023, attempts were made to get a look inside the building to determine if the lobby had yet been demolished. Photo: Phil O’Brien
In 1978, Fred Papert, who was also President of the Municipal Art Society , described the lobby to New York Magazine as “flashy and gorgeous, bright gold and silver and green. If Fred Astaire had worked in an office building, this would have been the one.” The building was the first home of Marvel Comics, and of W42ST when it first launched.
Making reference to its historic past, the building had been marketed in 2021 with a glossy blue-and-pink Roy Lichtenstein-style website, advertising its planned renovation. The old building was placed in opposition to a character reading a comic book about “the new West Side.”
Graphics on the now defunct 330w42st.com website advertising the residential conversion. Photo: 330w42st.com
In 2020, community leaders discovered that the Landmarks Commission had authorized the demolition of the lobby . In February 2021, Theodore Grunewald, founder of the Alliance to Save the McGraw-Hill Lobby, filed suit to preserve it, but the action ultimately failed.
Workers inside the McGraw-Hill building in February 2023. Photo: Phil O’Brien
“After demolishing the historic stunning art deco lobby of the McGraw Hill Building in 2021 and numerous building code violations and stop work orders since then, the owners find themselves under water on a $140 million loan,” Hoylman-Sigal said. “I hope a more responsible steward of this iconic building will be found soon.”
Representatives from Deco Towers Associates, Blackstone, Rialto Capital and Resolution Real Estate, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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