Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 12, 1995                   TAG: 9505120044
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-17   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                  LENGTH: Medium

CENTER FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY

Rockefeller Center, the art deco complex that is the historic center of the nation's communications industry, filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday, blaming a prolonged real estate slump.

The Japanese-backed owners, Rockefeller Center Properties and RCP Associates, said they took the action under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy laws to develop a reorganization plan ``that will be in the best interests of the creditors, tenants and employees of the properties.''

In a statement, they blamed ``the deep and prolonged recession in the New York real estate market'' and said they had been unable to reach agreement on renegotiating a $1.3 billion mortgage.

Under Chapter 11, creditors get a reprieve from debt payments while they work out a plan to repay creditors and stay in business, but must operate under supervision of a bankruptcy court judge. Tenants, employees and services won't be affected by the action, the owners said.

The namesake of the multibillionaire Rockefeller family is one of the most famous landmarks in the world, a multiblock layout of art deco skyscrapers that has been the signature backdrop to more than 100 movies.

Six years ago, the real estate subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Group bought an 80 percent stake in the center, causing some to complain that the nation's cultural heritage was sold out to foreigners.

Rockefeller Group Inc. owns a cluster of 12 original buildings with about 6 million square feet of rentable space. There are another six buildings in the center that are owned by other entities and were not involved in Thursday's action. Radio City Music Hall also was not part of the filing, although it is within the original complex.

The center's buildings are slab-style skyscrapers, limestone-sheathed with aluminum trim. They were declared landmarks in 1985.