Park Avenue landlords are sounding the alarm after reporting last week that Sixth Avenue had regained a narrow lead over Park in terms of minimum percentage of available space.
The Stahl Organization’s 277 Park Avenue location between East 47th and 48th Streets boasts an unreported 175,000 square feet of new and expanded leases signed in the past six months. , the 1.85 million square foot tower is 98% leased.
The largest transaction was a new lease of 50,000 square feet to Sumitomo Corporation of the Americas. 50,000 square foot expansion on top of existing 266,000 square feet by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. and 47,000 square feet for Arsenal Capital Management.
Other smaller new leases were signed by ERM Engineering & Consulting, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and an unidentified international bank.
Mark P. Boise, Brian Boise and Stephen Bellwood of Cushman & Wakefield represented Stahl in all transactions. These reflect Park Avenue’s continued rise in a highly uneven office market.
While the new towers at Park and Sixth Avenue and the mid-20th century towers both have relatively low vacancy rates of about 11%, the vacancy rate for Manhattan as a whole is 20%, which is higher than the vacancy rate in parts of the city, including the Wall Street area. It reaches 30% in some parts of the world.
Stahl’s success with 277 Park has a lot to do with the $120 million it spent to “reposition” the 1964-vintage property, which was originally home to a chemical bank.
Key upgrades include a new Park Avenue lobby with 30-foot ceilings, a redesigned Lexington side lobby, a first-floor tenant fitness center, and a restaurant from popular chef David Burke. “Magilla is exactly what tenants expect,” Boise said.
Asking rents at 277 Park range from $100 to $120 per square foot. JPMorgan Chase is currently the largest tenant.
