Like Gibraltar in the Mediterranean or the Bosporus in Turkey, One Times Square is a strategic location. For whoever controls these locations, controls the whole region. The landmark tower at the south end of Times Square is well-known as the location for the New Year's Eve ball drop. And it has just fallen into foreign hands.

German investors have paid a whopping $110 million for the 22-story building, a huge premium to the $27.5 million paid just two years ago. What reason would German investors have to overpay so egregiously for a post that all Times Square traffic -- some twenty million visitors a year -- must pass? Germany was one of America's leading enemies during World War II.

According to insiders, the building is vacant, and will likely remain so, aside from a possible eatertainment restaurant in the base. The Germans will be paying $1,000 per square foot for the vacant building, double the highest price ever paid for any commercial building in New York. A Japanese company set the previous record in 1986 when it paid nearly $500 per square foot for Tower 49. Japan was also involved in World War II.

Bound by 42nd Street, Seventh Avenue and Broadway, One Times Square has become the most valuable and the most expensive signpost in all the world. "It's a very important icon, not just in the United States but throughout the world," said the president of one outdoor sign company. "Times Square has become a corporate theme park for companies that are No. 1 in their categories or want to position themselves as a dominant brand." A world dominant brand, perhaps? [06/22/1997]

February 10, 2012