London brand to arrive on NYC skyline
A bit of London haute couture is coming to the New York City skyline.
Burberry, the high-end British clothing brand, plans to hang its shingle – in the form of a large, illuminated rooftop sign – at 444 Madison Ave.
The Burberry sign is expected to replace the New York sign, which was erected for the magazine of the same name and whose offices occupied the building from 1996 until recently. Before that, New Yorkers may remember it for the Newsweek sign that marked that publication’s offices.
“It gives the company an opportunity to brand the property,” said Frank Marino, a spokesman for Westbrook Partners, which owns the 42-story, 500,000-square-foot building, between 49th and 50th streets.
The London-based company, which will have offices and a showroom on the 13th through 16th floors, with perhaps retail on the ground floor. It expects to move in some time after March, said Marino.
Though Burberry has not yet applied for a permit, Kate Lindquist, a spokeswoman for the Department of Buildings, said the company would be allowed to have a sign of similar size to the current one. A digital display of the time and temperature now sits beneath the corporate name.
New buildings are not allowed to install such signs, but 444 Madison Ave. falls under a grandfather clause. That fact no doubt appealed to Burberry, said Marino.
“It’s something that is rare, it’s a commodity,” he said.
