Difference between revisions of "Upper Estate"

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(New page: The '''Upper Estate''' was a bit of land given to Columbia by the State of New York in lieu of cash support (which it had given to other New York Colleges), better known today as '''Rockef...)
 
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The '''Upper Estate''' was a bit of land given to Columbia by the State of New York in lieu of cash support (which it had given to other New York Colleges), better known today as '''Rockefeller Center'''. Generally considered a lousy bit of property that cost more to maintain than it generated in rent, it went on to become the cornerstone of Columbia's endowment when the city's central business district relocated to midtown.
 
The '''Upper Estate''' was a bit of land given to Columbia by the State of New York in lieu of cash support (which it had given to other New York Colleges), better known today as '''Rockefeller Center'''. Generally considered a lousy bit of property that cost more to maintain than it generated in rent, it went on to become the cornerstone of Columbia's endowment when the city's central business district relocated to midtown.
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After selling the property to the Rockefeller's in [[1985]], the property has in a way come full circle. Real Estate developer and manager [[Jerry Speyer]] CC '5? Tishman-Speyer bought the property in 2001.
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== Rockefeller Center ==
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NBC is here, as is a tiny but famous skating rink. You may have seen it on TV? Read about it in ''Catcher in the Rye''?
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Stay away! It's filled with endless lines of tourists hoping (futilely) to get into a taping of ''Conan''.
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Ayn Rand fans should watch out for the statue of Atlas, on the west side of Broadway just north of the main approach to the [[GE Building]].
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==Columbia connection==
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Contrary to rumors that suggest otherwise, Rockefeller Center was not built atop what was Columbia's second campus. Columbia's campus from the 1830s to the 1890s was indeed located in [[Midtown]], but it was further east, near [[Madison Avenue]].
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Columbia, however, did own the land on which Rockefeller Center was developed, and continued to reap rents from it well into the 1980s, when it was sold to the Rockefellers, which provided seed funding for Columbia's endowment.
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It is generally acknowledged that [[Michael Sovern|President Sovern]] made a good decision to sell Rockefeller Center for $400 million in February [[1985]]. The volatile real-estate market for the next decade swung the value of the property to as low as $75 million, and it would not reach $400 million again until the late 1990s. In the meantime, with cash proceeds coming from the sale, Columbia's endowment portfolio grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17%. Compare that with the approximately $3 million in rent that Rockefeller Center generated yearly.
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[[Category:New York City]]

Revision as of 02:58, 3 March 2008

The Upper Estate was a bit of land given to Columbia by the State of New York in lieu of cash support (which it had given to other New York Colleges), better known today as Rockefeller Center. Generally considered a lousy bit of property that cost more to maintain than it generated in rent, it went on to become the cornerstone of Columbia's endowment when the city's central business district relocated to midtown.

After selling the property to the Rockefeller's in 1985, the property has in a way come full circle. Real Estate developer and manager Jerry Speyer CC '5? Tishman-Speyer bought the property in 2001.


Rockefeller Center

NBC is here, as is a tiny but famous skating rink. You may have seen it on TV? Read about it in Catcher in the Rye?

Stay away! It's filled with endless lines of tourists hoping (futilely) to get into a taping of Conan.

Ayn Rand fans should watch out for the statue of Atlas, on the west side of Broadway just north of the main approach to the GE Building.

Columbia connection

Contrary to rumors that suggest otherwise, Rockefeller Center was not built atop what was Columbia's second campus. Columbia's campus from the 1830s to the 1890s was indeed located in Midtown, but it was further east, near Madison Avenue.

Columbia, however, did own the land on which Rockefeller Center was developed, and continued to reap rents from it well into the 1980s, when it was sold to the Rockefellers, which provided seed funding for Columbia's endowment.

It is generally acknowledged that President Sovern made a good decision to sell Rockefeller Center for $400 million in February 1985. The volatile real-estate market for the next decade swung the value of the property to as low as $75 million, and it would not reach $400 million again until the late 1990s. In the meantime, with cash proceeds coming from the sale, Columbia's endowment portfolio grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17%. Compare that with the approximately $3 million in rent that Rockefeller Center generated yearly.