Williams Equities Tearing Down 24-Story Plaza District Office

Office conversions have been a buzzy topic since the start of the pandemic, but some building owners find it easier to tear down their properties and start anew.

Williams Equities filed plans to raze the 24-story office property at 655 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, Crain’s reported. The landlord appears to co-own the 200,000-square-foot property with Jamestown.

The property dates back to 1951 and was renovated in 2005. Office rents ranged between $54 and $66 per square foot, according to CoStar estimates. Tenants at the building have included flexible office space provider Knotel and Stephen Ross’ wife, Kara, who has a jewelry line; the real estate couple reportedly separated in 2021.

The timeline of the building’s demolition is unclear, as is what Williams will put in the property’s place. Williams and Jamestown did not respond to requests for comments from Crain’s.

But Williams principal Michael Cohen left breadcrumbs hinting at the site’s plans several months ago. In an interview with the Commercial Observer, Cohen suggested it was one of several buildings in the area that would be “replaced probably by a mixture of retail, hospitality and residential.”

Cohen is also Tri-State president of the New York City office of Colliers International. Williams previously operated as GVA Williams before its principals sold the brokerage services to First Service in 2007, which was then rebranded as Colliers International.

In the spring, Williams landed a refinancing for a century-old retail and office property in the Flatiron District. Citi Real Estate Funding provided the five-year, $155 million loan at 28-40 West 23rd Street, replacing a $140 million CMBS loan; the new financing will also be packaged into commercial mortgage-backed securities and sold to investors.

Williams, which counts more than a dozen properties in its Manhattan portfolio, is planning a $23 million renovation of the Flatiron property, a landmarked building that houses a Home Depot store.

— Holden Walter-Warner