在50层的9 West中有将近24层是闲置的。
NEW YORK -- With its unparalleled views of Central Park and striking black-glass facade wrapped in travertine marble, the swooping tower at 9 West 57th St. in Manhattan is among the world's most prestigious business addresses.
曼哈顿西57街9号(9 West 57th St.)是全世界最知名的商业地址之一，一栋高耸的建筑矗立在这里，颇具视觉冲击力的全黑色玻璃窗，大理石的外墙立面，具有能俯瞰中央公园美景的无与伦比的优越位置。
Today, it sits half empty.
现在，大厦却处于半空状态。
Some 24 of the building's 50 floors are vacant, including the top three, according to people familiar with the building. Even in today's dismal real-estate market, the amount of empty space in 9 West, as the building is known, is unique among high-end New York office towers.
据知情人士讲，总共50层的建筑物约有24层空无一人，其中包括最高的三层。即使在如今不景气的房地产市场中，这栋被称为9 West的大厦的空置率在纽约高端写字楼中也是独一无二的。
Nine West has rich connections to American finance. Much of the action surrounding the legendary takeover of RJR Nabisco, chronicled in the book 'Barbarians at the Gate,' took place on the 42nd floor at the offices of private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. A popular women's shoe brand, Nine West, is named after the address where it was founded. The building was recently touched by the crimes committed by imprisoned fraud figures Bernard Madoff and Marc Dreier.
9 West与美国金融业有着深厚的渊源。《门口的野蛮人》(Barbarians at the Gate)一书中所叙述的具有传奇色彩的对RJR Nabisco公司购并争夺战就发生在私募股权投资公司KKR(Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.)所在的第42层。时尚女鞋品牌Nine West就创立于此，并以这个地址给自己命名。最近因欺诈案入狱的伯纳德•马多夫(Bernard Madoff)和马克• 德瑞尔(Marc Dreier)也曾经在这里办公。
Brokers and tenants trace the vacancies to Sheldon Solow, 9 West's billionaire owner. Mr. Solow has declined to reduce rents in the building, where the highest floors go for roughly $200 a square foot. The average asking rent of 9 West's neighborhood, the Plaza district: $79 per square foot, down 18% from a year ago, said Reis, a commercial-real-estate data provider.
地产经纪和租户将高空置率归咎于9 West大厦的拥有者亿万富翁索罗(Sheldon Solow)，因为索罗拒绝下调大厦的租金。据商业地产数据供应商Reis称，9 West最高几层的租金高达每平方英尺200美元左右，而附近Plaza区的写字楼平均报价仅为每平方英尺79美元，比一年前下降18%。
The health of the 81-year-old Mr. Solow, who has a history of heart troubles, recently took a turn for the worse, according to people close to Mr. Solow. He has for now turned over the business to his son Stefan and an outside consultant. They have hired broker CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. to lease the building.
据索罗身边的人透露，现年81岁的索罗有过心脏病史，最近健康状况恶化，因此暂时把业务交给儿子斯代芬(Stefan)和一个外部顾问打理，后者聘请CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.地产经纪公司负责大厦的出租事宜。
Sheldon Solow and Stefan Solow didn't return telephone calls seeking comment.
索罗和斯代芬没有回复要求置评的电话。
Despite the vacancies, the Solows aren't in danger of defaulting on the property's $400 million mortgage. In 2007, the building was appraised at $2.2 billion, according to loan-data provider Trepp LLC. Even at an occupancy rate of 53% as of October, the building generated $35 million in net operating income during the first nine months of 2009, said Trepp, more than enough to cover debt service. But in 2008 the building earned nearly double that.
虽然空置率高，但索罗父子并不至于无力支付该项地产四亿美元的抵押贷款。据贷款数据供应商Trepp LLC称，这栋大厦2007年的评估价格为22亿美元。即使按2009年10月53%的空置率计算，其在2009年头9个月中依然带来3500万美元的净营运收入，完全能满足抵押贷款的付息要求。不过，这栋大厦在2008年的收入接近7000万美元。
Despite 13 football fields of empty space, 9 West retains an exclusive aura. Cellphone use is banned in the sparse, marble-clad lobby. Tenants are denied access to the elder Mr. Solow's private art gallery, which occupies what would be prime retail space on the ground floor. Through windows, pedestrians can view the collection, which includes a Miro, a Matisse, and a Henry Moore sculpture.
虽然空置了相当于13个足球场这么大的面积，9 West依然保持着特立独行的风格。在空旷的大理石装饰的大厅，手机禁止使用，租户不能进入位于一层本应作为黄金店面区域的索罗的私人画廊。透过玻璃窗，行人能看到里头陈列的收藏品，包括一幅西班牙超现实主义绘画大师米罗(Miro)的作品，一幅法国知名野兽派画家马蒂斯(Matisse)的作品，还有一座英国现代雕塑大师摩尔(Henry Moore)的雕塑作品。
For now, private-equity and hedge-fund executives, whose money-management empires can afford the steep rent, occupy much of the building. Hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group has three floors. Apollo Global Management, run by billionaire Leon Black, has 2 1/2 floors. Among the building's newest tenants is private-equity firm Providence Equity Partners, which late last year took over the entire 47th Floor at about $200 a square foot.
目前，私募股权投资公司和对冲基金的高管是大厦的主要租户，这些资产管理机构能够承担这里高昂的租金。对冲基金Och-Ziff资本管理集团(Och-Ziff Capital Management Group)租了三层，由亿万富翁布莱克打理的Apollo Global Management占据了两层半。大厦最新的租户是一家私募投资公司Providence Equity Partners，其在2009年底以每平方英尺200美元的价格租下了整个47层。
Peter Lattman / Anton Troianovski |
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