NEW YORK CITY—A partnership of General GrowthProperties and Jeffrey Sutton'sWharton Properties has made a pre-emptive strikeon a planned auction of the Crown Building at 730 Fifth Ave.,published reports say. Bloomberg reported Friday that thepartnership would pay $1.75 billion for the property, largely onthe strength of its retail space. The acquisition is believed toset a world record for a single office building at$4,490 per square foot.

The New York Post reported Thursday that the390,000-square-foot trophy at the corner of 57th Street and Fifthgarnered worldwide interest after EastdilSecured's Doug Harmon and AdamSpies began marketing it earlier this month. However, GGPand Sutton moved quickly to acquire the property from theSpitzer and Winter families.

Although primarily an office property, it's the approximately50,000 square feet of retail space along the world's most expensiveshopping corridor that gives the Crown Building its appeal. Itsretail tenants include jewelers Bulgari SpA and K. Mikimoto &Co.; its neighbors include Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton andBergdorf Goodman.