It’s last call in Times Sq.
Budweiser signs come down
THIS
Bud’s for buh-bye. Two 90-foot-tall Budweiser signs standing guard from the north over Times Square will come down this week — marking an end to a nearly 85-year AnheuserBusch presence on the building, located behind Two Times Square.
The brewer’s ads at 1600 Broadway were only briefly interrupted by signs touting Corona beer — but those signs were replaced when A-B bought out the Mexican brand’s maker in 2012.
Sign owner Sherwood Outdoor plans to replace the giant vinyl ads with larger, 35-by-95foot LED displays on May 1 for an as-yet-unnamed brand.
Budweiser still has a longterm lease on its giant LED sign on One Times Square — six blocks south.
Sherwood Outdoor president Brian Turner wouldn’t reveal the next brand on the building, between 48th and 49th streets, saying only it would be “an iconic advertiser from the past.”
No, it won’t be the smokering-blowing Camel cigarette sign, he said.
Sherwood owns all the signage on the bow tie’s “goal posts,” Turner said — One Times Square at the south end and Two Times Square at the north. It manages the signs on 1600 Broadway as well.
“In total, we have 22 sign locations,” Turner said. We estimate that they comprise about 63,000 square feet.
He wouldn’t say how much it costs to lease the signs, citing confidentiality agreements. Asked about published estimates that Times Square signs rent for $1 million to $4 million annually, he said, “Higher, but obviously it depends on the sign.”
Speaking of bright lights: Back in 2015, five penthouse units on the top six floors of The Charles, a 32-story luxury condo tower at 1355 First Ave., were sold to two unidentified but “related” families for a combined $58.6 million.
They planned to convert the five merely large units into two ginormous ones.
There’s been no news since. But some sleepless neighbors in the East 70s would like to know why the six highest floors are, each night, lit up inside as bright as the Empire State Building’s top.
The blinding illumination from behind curtain-less windows reveals furniture, chandeliers and other details. But is anybody home?
Reps for tower developer BlueRock noted that the residences are now privately owned and said they didn’t know why they’re lit.
Four different tenants have signed for a total of nearly 60,000 square feet at SL Green’s 461 Fifth Ave.
Everest Reinsurance re- newed on 22,464 square feet and added 11,232. Foros advisers, Carval Investors and Cyprium Partners signed new leases or extended.
The tower is undergoing major capital improvements including a new lobby and plaza, said SLG leasing director Steven Durels.
Meanwhile, SLG landed a new, 14,807-square-foot lease with Ascot Underwriting at Tower 46 — aka 55 W. 46th St.
Durels noted that the location offers “one of the few new-construction towers available in Midtown.” Insanely popular craftedburger mecca Whitmans is adding a fifth location this fall: 261 Hudson, Related Cos.’ new luxury rental building at Hudson and Spring streets. Whitmans co-owner Larry Kramer plans to introduce the neighborhood to his famous Juicy Lucy, a combo of two thin beef patties with a scoop of pimento cheddar. The asking rent for the 2,400-square-foot space was $150 a square foot. Winick’s Ross Burack repped both landlord and tenant.