Macklowe: 510 Madison on Track Despite Fire

NEW YORK CITY-Macklowe Properties’ 510 Madison Ave. is on track for a summer 2009 completion despite a fire at the construction site earlier this month, the company says in an open letter to the commercial real estate brokerage community. Additionally, a full-floor lease of 11,500 square feet at the office tower remains in effect, despite earlier published reports that the tenant might pull out.

“We remain on schedule to put our first elevator cab into service in March,” according to the letter issued Monday afternoon, signed by Macklowe Properties chairman William Macklowe. He adds, “The building’s pursuit of LEED-certified Gold status has not been affected.”

The Feb. 9 electrical fire originated within a construction shed on the 30-story, 350,000-square-foot tower’s second floor. According to the Macklowe letter, the fire was contained primarily within the second floor and resulted in “minor damage” requiring only “the replacement of certain glass panels” on the tower’s base floors, while floors seven through 30 sustained “minor, cosmetic damage.” Inspections by the Fire Department of New York, the city’s Department of Buildings and the project’s engineers determined that the building was structurally sound, the letter states.