AIG is evaluating the sale of 70 Pine St. and 72 Wall St., spokesman Mark Herr said in an e-mail today.
The insurance company is seeking a buyer after commercial real estate prices in the U.S. dropped by almost 15 percent in 2008, according to a Feb. 19 report from Moody’s Investors Service. Commercial values are now down more than 16 percent from their peak in October 2007, said Moody’s. The deepening recession is causing tenants to cut jobs and vacate space.
“This is part of AIG’s divestiture strategy and effort to maximize operating efficiency,” Herr said in a statement. “Market interest received will help determine the best course of action.”
The 66-story headquarters on Pine Street was completed in 1932 and has about 775,000 square feet, according to Emporis.com, a database of New York City properties. The Wall Street building is 16 stories and has about 279,000 square feet, according to MrOfficespace.com.
AIG owns about 2 million square feet of space in New York, said Richard Economou, a senior vice president in the New York office of UGL Equis, a commercial real estate firm.