John Mayer and McG Are Saving the Jim Henson Studio Lot

I lived in New York City for 16 years and worked there for 17. It changed a lot during that time. When I got there, there were two Dunkin Donuts, maybe three Taco Bells, and one or two 7/11s. That’s by design! NYC was made for local stores and restaurants. Plenty of name-brand stores have popped up over the years, but there was more room and care for local institutions. That is no longer the case. You can get Taco Bell anywhere. Dunkins are plentiful, and there are even several Targets. It’s madness and has made me more attuned to stories about historical buildings going up for sale.

One of my favorite NYC stories about a building going up for sale but getting saved involves the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway. I love that theater and used to give tours there. It opened in 1903 and was home to Ziegfeld Follies. It was designed in a gorgeous art nouveau style. The theater was sold in the late ’30s and turned into a movie theater, and that movie theater was bad. Necessary repairs weren’t made in the theater, and in the late ’70s, the owner tried to turn it into a parking lot. However, local heroes got it landmarked out from under him, and Disney eventually revived it in the mid-’90s. Thanks, Giuliani! (No, seriously, it’s one of the few good things he accomplished.)

Now, another classic location is being saved. It was reported earlier this year that the Jim Henson Studio Lot would be put up for sale. That announcement caused a lot of dread as NYC isn’t the only place where locations are being bought up to be demolished or turned into unaffordable housing (or both). People didn’t want to see the legendary studio, where “We Are The World” was recorded (among other things), purchased by anyone unseemly. Case in point, a rumor that the Church of Scientology would purchase it freaked folks out. Instead, a resident is swooping in to buy the property.

TMZ reports that John Mayer, who currently has an office on the lot, will purchase it with director McG for $45 million. Despite being Mad Libs-like in its construction, the deal means great news for the legendary studio because it doesn’t seem like the singer of Your Body Is A Wonderland and director of The Babysitter plan to change anything! Mayer will be overseeing the recording studio while McG will oversee everything else. Not only will they be keeping things the same, they won’t even change the staff!

There could still be bumps down the road in this story. Things could change or get worse. But dammit, at a time when I’m seeing stories of Party City employees getting laid off right before Christmas with no severance, hearing that a bunch of folks will get to keep their jobs at such a magical place feels like a friggin miracle.