New lease on life Linda Seid Frembes learns how an aging New York City skyscraper is getting a total transformation into a modern high-rise office tower, thanks to a hefty investment from private equity firm Equity Office. While most New Yorkers may know it as the old Verizon Building, the property now known as 1095 Avenue of the Americas in midtown Manhattan is a testament to how capital management and construction technology can transform an antiquated high-rise into a modern office building.