Bill Clinton’s “Cadillac” taste in office space may cost taxpayers more than they’re paying for offices for the four other living ex-presidents combined, The Post has learned.
There’s no legal limit on how much the government can spend to rent office space for a former president – and Clinton has picked one of the priciest buildings in Manhattan with the real-estate market at an historic peak.
The General Services Administration is negotiating a lease of the entire 56th floor of the tony 60-story Carnegie Hall Tower on West 57th Street for Clinton’s new office.
The Texas-sized 8,300-square-foot space – four times the size of the average new home – boasts “white-glove” service and spectacular panoramic views.
It will likely cost taxpayers at least $500,000 to $665,000 a year – and possibly considerably more.
The combined office rent for the four other living ex-presidents is $624,000.
Ronald Reagan’s Avenue of the Stars digs in Century City, Calif. are currently the most expensive – $285,000 a year.
Taxpayers also pay $147,000 a year for George Bush’s Houston office; $99,000 for Gerald Ford’s office in a converted house in Rancho Mirage, Calif.; and $90,000 for a room in Jimmy Carter’s sprawling nonprofit Carter Center complex in Atlanta, Ga.
When staff and other expenses are added in, the GSA spends nearly $2.5 million for the four offices.
Sources familiar with the ongoing GSA negotiations for Clinton’s office said the owner of Carnegie Hall Tower may sign a deal for $60 to $80 a foot – which translates into $500,000 to $665,000 a year.
If so, real estate sources said, it would be a steal – the going rate for an exclusive floor in a “boutique” office tower is close to $100 a square foot.
Although a security headache, Clinton’s tenancy would enhance the prestige of the 10-year-old tower, which stands next to Carnegie Hall.
Despite the deal, watchdog groups are aghast at the cost.
“This is the Cadillac of former presidents’ office spaces,” said John Berthoud, president of the National Taxpayers Union.
Under the Former Presidents Act, the government must provide, effective six months after a president’s term ends, an office anywhere in the country that he chooses.
The office must be “appropriately furnished and equipped.”
The government limits the amount it pays for staff at $150,000 a year for the first 30 months and $96,000 a year thereafter.
But there is no limit on rental costs.
“If a president chooses to have his office in his newfound state rather than his home of 50 years, that is his prerogative. But obviously, it’s going to cost the taxpayers a lot more money,” said Rep. Ernest Istook, (R-Okla.), chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee that oversees funds for former presidents.
Cassandra Henderson, a spokeswoman for the General Services Administration’s northeast regional office, which is negotiating the lease, denied that “the sky’s the limit.”
She said the ex-president’s office should be “adequate,” and the rental price “fair market value.”
The Secret Service, which gets additional funding for space to guard Clinton, liked Carnegie Hall Tower because it could control access to the president’s floor.
It is not known whether the security force would be housed on the same floor as Clinton, or if it would rent additional space on an adjoining floor.
The sprawling space being negotiated formerly housed Talk magazine, owned by Clinton supporter Harvey Weinstein.
Government watchdogs were not surprised at what they called Clinton’s skill at exploiting a loophole.
“If it’s gray in any way or unclear whether it’s legal, he’ll do it,” said Charles Lewis, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity.
“After his pardons and his gifts, I think we should give him a pup tent in Central Park,” Lewis said.
New York real estate officials were less critical.
“Can you get less expensive space? Yes, but former presidents are entitled to views of Central Park,” said Glenn Markman, executive managing director of Grubb & Ellis, an international real estate company.
With a tight vacancy rate and strong demand, the cost of Manhattan office space has risen sharply, Markman said.
“If President Clinton had not won re-election four years ago, it would have probably cost the taxpayers $50 a foot for the same space,” he said.
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RENT & RAVE: Alook at the offices of the four living ex-presidents (TALE OF THE TAPE)
(// Location // Square feet // Description // Annual rent // Total pension and office costs)
* CLINTON // (proposed) Carnegie Hall Tower, 152 W. 57th St. // 8,300 // Entire 56th floor, sweeping views of Manhattan; marble-and-granite lobby; “white-glove”‘ service // (estimated) bargain price of $500,000 to $664,000 // $111,000 pension (total office expense not yet known)
* BUSH // Houston residential area, five miles from downtown // 4,401// 10 individual offices, conference room and kitchen, in nine-story building // $147,000 // $583,800.
* REAGAN // Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Calif. // 5,912 // Staff would not provide details // $285,000// $700,800
* CARTER // Atlanta, Ga. // 4,305/ One room at 37-acre non-profit Carter Center complex set in rolling hills, two miles from downtown // $93,000 // $499,800.
* FORD // Rancho Mirage, Calif. // 3,286 // Converted ranch house next door to Ford’s home, upper-middle-income neighborhood near Thunderbird Country Club // $99,000// $460,600.
Sources: General Services Administration; ex-presidents’ staffs.