Andersen Backs Out of Times Square Deal

NEW YORK CITY-After months of denying that it would bail on its 650,000-sf lease at Boston Properties’ Times Square Tower, hobbled accounting firm Arthur Andersen reportedly pulled the plug yesterday.

While odds on Andersen ever crunching numbers in the 1.2-million-sf Midtown building have been lengthening ever since the Enron scandal broke, Andersen has repeatedly asserted its intention of honoring its commitment to Boston Properties. When asked in February if the firm would pull out of the Times Square deal, Andersen spokesman Patrick Dorton maintained an all-systems-go attitude. “There is no change in plans,” he told GlobeSt.com. “We are proceeding as expected. We are absolutely proceeding as planned.” Dorton could not be reached for comment.

But its poker face began to slip recently, as Andersen reportedly began hinting that it was considering occupying only part of the space it had leased, saying that other tenants wanted the space. Those hints turned out to be the top of a slippery slope yesterday when word began circulating that the deal was officially off.