The Empire State Building Turns 80!

By Mike Akerly of Village Confidential

The Empire State Building turned 80 years old yesterday. It has survived the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, take over attempts by Donald Trump, Leona Helmsley “the Queen of Mean,” 9/11, and the real estate crash that brought on the Great Recession of recent years. It was originally built in 1931 and stood as the world’s tallest skyscraper at 102 stories and 1,250 feet for another forty years. It originally cost about $41 million to construct but the recent renovation and greening planned by one of the owners, Anthony Malkin, will cost $500 million. In recent years the Empire State Building has attempted to usher smaller tenants out of the building to be replaced by much larger tenants willing to take huge chunks of space. This year, Li & Fung (a Hong Kong based supply chain manager) signed a 15 year lease for 500,000 square feet. To attract them, management has had to bring the aging building into the modern age to help it compete with newer Class A office space located in Midtown. As part of that endeavor, the ESB is now purchasing 100% wind generated energy from a company named Green Mountain Energy. The deal will prevent the release of 100,000,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Visitors can check out the observation decks on the 86th and 102nd floors of the Empire State Building for as little as $19.29 per adult ticket or just see the video below: