Fresh off a $2 billion re-fi, SL Green’s 1.8 million square-foot 245 Park Avenue reached 100% occupancy in September — and that’s only part of the property’s story.
The 44-story tower on the entire block between East 46th and East 47th is putting the finishing touches on what SL Green CEO Marc Holliday called a “seismic,” $225 million repositioning. The project includes a new wraparound public plaza, a striking new Park Avenue podium facade by KPF, lavish tenant amenities and, soon, a restaurant from John Meadow’s LDV Hospitality.
“It’s a quintessential SLG Green case study,” Holliday told us. “It was a comprehensive re-do from the plaza to the roof. We breathe new life into older buildings and bring them up to world-class standards.” The work is expected to wrap up in March.
Holliday credited joint-venture partner Mori Trust and architects KPF for “sharing our vision” to make 245 Park Avenue fully competitive in the red-hot Park Avenue market. He also expressed gratitude to the Department of City Planning for cooperating in the plaza redesign.
Rents at 245 Park were around $85 per square foot when SL Green took total control of the property in 2022 following a “contentious bankruptcy” by the previous owner, Holliday said. More recent “asks” were as high as $185 psf. The lease that filled the building was for Nearwater Management, which took 36,563 square feet.
SL Green first entered the 245 Park picture as a lender in 2018. It was technically about 80% full when SL Green took over four years later, but that’s misleading since a number of leases were expiring. “We had to re-establish good tenant relationships” after disruption during the bankruptcy, Holliday said. The tower has since lured Area Management, Carlyle Investment Management, EQT Partners and Houlihan Lokey.
Holliday said of the re-fi, “We’re thrilled at the support we got from the debt community, it’s very satisfying.” The new loan led by JP Morgan Chase and including six other banks replaced a $1.2 billion mortgage loan and a $568 mezzanine loan.
The tower will soon have a restaurant from John Meadow’s LVD Hospitality. It will fill a 10,000 square-foot ground-level corner at the north end of the Park Avenue side.
“The space was vacant for many years. We don’t know why,” Holliday said. “We chose LVD because they’re great operators.” Meadow is known for his popular Scarpetta trattorias but a concept for 245 Park has yet to be chosen.