Trump Gets $57.5M for Empire State Building

NEW YORK CITY-The Dealer folds. Donald Trump is finally selling his stake in the Empire State Building to Peter Malkin’s Empire State Building Associates in a $57.5-million deal that could close in just six weeks, according to a television news report aired Friday evening. The Malkin group holds the 115-year master lease on the property.

A quick sale would come as a surprise to industry experts, considering the tangle of relationships–both personal and contractual–that make up the ownership and management of the landmark building at 350 Fifth Ave. A lingering question mark in the deal, reports of which first surfaced last month, involves Leona Helmsley, who manages the property and holds three of the 3,330 shares in Malkin’s group as well as a sublease on the building. Though she and Malkin exchanged lawsuits shortly after the 1997 death of her husband, Harry Helmsley, Trump has a particularly rocky history with the woman he reportedly crowned with the now-ubiquitous moniker, “The Queen of Mean.” Helmsley is said to be keeping close tabs on the deal, and has claimed that the building cannot be sold without her approval.

Also unresolved is Helmsley-Spear executive Irving Schneider’s State Supreme Court lawsuit against Malkin, first reported in December. Schneider owns a single share in the Malkin group and is said to be litigating to keep his firm from losing the management and rental fees it derives from the building. Schneider reportedly believes Malkin would cancel Helmsley-Spear’s Empire State Building contract if he had the power to do so.