NEW YORK | 350 Park Avenue | 1,600 FT | 62 FLOORS

[NYguy]

A little more...


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...uverify%20wall

Citadel’s Ken Griffin Taps St. Patrick’s Air Rights to Boost NYC Office Tower
-Citadel is working with Vornado, Rudin to build new skyscraper
-Archdiocese says money will likely go to cathedral’s upkeep





By Natalie Wong
December 11, 2023

Citadel’s Ken Griffin is in contract to purchase air rights from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan to build a giant skyscraper that will house Citadel on Park Avenue.

Griffin, alongside Vornado Realty Trust and Rudin, have been working to map out plans for a 1.7 million-square-foot tower that would replace three properties at 350 Park Ave.

A limited liability company struck an agreement with the trustees of the iconic cathedral in New York to buy anywhere from 315,000 square feet (29,000 square meters) to 525,000 square feet of excess development rights from 631 Fifth Ave., where St. Patrick’s Cathedral is located, according to a court filing.

[Zapatan]

Does this mean the building could possibly be taller?

Fine with 1,350' though obviously.

[Doubleu1117]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

Does this mean the building could possibly be taller?

Fine with 1,350' though obviously.

Right, not an expert on air rights, but they already were permitted to go to 1,350 ft? This indicates plans to go taller?

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

Does this mean the building could possibly be taller?

Fine with 1,350' though obviously.

There are no height limits on the site. The only limit is the FAR, or the amount of space allowed to be built on the site. The tower could be taller than 1,350 ft, but in order to be larger, the footprint would have to increase. Or they could simply file for approval to build larger than what is already approved, but that would be too risky.

[NYguy]

https://therealdeal.com/new-york/202...he-daily-dirt/


DEC 22, 2023
By Kathryn Brenzel

Vornado’s board signed off on $6.4 million in bonuses to Vornado executives as a reward for their deal with Rudin Management and Griffin that will pave the way for the 1.7 million-square-foot tower.

In January, Vornado and Rudin finalized agreements for Griffin to master lease 350 Park Avenue and 40 East 52nd Street. Later, Vornado and Rudin bought an adjacent property to add to the development site.

A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission explained that the bonuses were a reward to management for “seeking and finding new opportunities to create shareholder value by raising third-party capital for development projects to diversify risk and enhance the Company’s economics.” H/T to my colleague Christian Bautista for flagging the filing.

Roth received $2.2 million, and president and CFO Michael Franco got $1.4 million.

...The $6.4 million payout was taken from a $25 million installment of development fees related to 350 Park. Most recently, the development team agreed to buy up to $164 million worth of air rights for the project from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.

[Zapatan]

Nice, can't wait for this to get underway

[gttx]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

Does this mean the building could possibly be taller?

Fine with 1,350' though obviously.

These air rights were likely already included in the project that was announced previously. Access to district-wide air rights (rather than just from adjacent lots) is one of the drivers of the redevelopment happening in East Midtown. I would assume this is just about where they've been able to secure the air rights.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by gttx

These air rights were likely already included in the project that was announced previously. Access to district-wide air rights (rather than just from adjacent lots) is one of the drivers of the redevelopment happening in East Midtown. I would assume this is just about where they've been able to secure the air rights.

That is exactly what they are for. The design itself likely hasn't been finalized, so we don't really know what the exact height will be. During the approvals process, which hasn't begun, that will all be spelled out for us.

[ChiND]

I guess the prospects for this look good. I need to visit NYC.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/04/ken-...er-market.html

[Crawford]

Citadel just bought even more air rights, from RFR Realty. They also filed plans for additional easements. Wonder if we get a height boost, or if the additional air rights were already considered in the previous renderings.

This one is likely imminent. It also appears that Citadel is really developing this, though Vornado is a partner. I'm guessing Citadel takes the whole tower. They're growing like crazy and NY is easily their biggest office.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Citadel just bought even more air rights, from RFR Realty. They also filed plans for additional easements. Wonder if we get a height boost, or if the additional air rights were already considered in the previous renderings.

This one is likely imminent. It also appears that Citadel is really developing this, though Vornado is a partner. I'm guessing Citadel takes the whole tower. They're growing like crazy and NY is easily their biggest office.

I’m pretty sure the pre-certification process is afoot. That’s the lengthy process that gets a project ready to enter the approvals process. Once that begins, we’ll get an idea on a final height.

[ChiND]

Originally Posted by NYguy

I’m pretty sure the pre-certification process is afoot. That’s the lengthy process that gets a project ready to enter the approvals process. Once that begins, we’ll get an idea on a final height.

Do you have an idea as to when demolition will start?

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ChiND

Do you have an idea as to when demolition will start?

No, they haven't filed for anything, and are still occupying the site.

[ChiND]

Citadel is flush with cash.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/23/worl...f-profits.html

[NYguy]

Midtown east and Park Ave remain a desirable location. As they say, a rising tide lifts all boats. Neighboring Park Avennue Plaxa refills.


https://commercialobserver.com/2024/...-avenue-plaza/

Finance Firm Evercore Expands Park Avenue HQ by 95K SF





BY ABIGAIL NEHRING
JANUARY 23, 2024

Financial firm Evercore has an every-increasing appetite for Midtown office space.

Evercore signed a 12-year lease to tack on another 95,000 square feet on the 39th through 41st floors of Park Avenue Plaza at 55 East 52nd Street, bringing its total footprint to just over half a million square feet spread across 16 floors of the 45-story office tower, landlord Fisher Brothers announced Tuesday.

Asking rent was $130 per square foot, a spokesperson for Fisher Brothers said.

The firm has been a tenant in the East 52nd Street building since 2006 and expanded its space multiple times, as Commercial Observer previously reported. In 2018, it doubled its offices to 350,000 square feet but it’s unclear when it tacked on more.

…The 1.2 million-square-foot Park Avenue Plaza suffered a massive loss when BlackRock departed its 375,022 square feet for 50 Hudson Yards two years ago and Aon geared up to leave its 209,000-square-foot space, according to DBRS Morningstar.

Morgan Stanley took much of the vacant BlackRock office space in 2022, and the Evercore expansion brings the building to 100 percent leased, according to Fisher Brothers.

[NYguy]

https://www.pincusco.com/citadel-pay...ast-supertall/

Citadel pays $10M to RFR for air rights, easement agreement for Midtown East supertall


January 9, 2024

Kenneth Griffin’s Citadel Enterprise Americas paid $10 million to Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding as part of an air rights and easement agreement related to Citadel and Vornado Realty Trust’s construction of a supertall, 1.7 million-square-foot office building at 350 Park Avenue in Midtown East, city records show.

This purchase comes a few weeks after PincusCo reported that Citadel has a contract with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York to buy up to 525,000 square feet of development rights from St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 631 Fifth Avenue for $312.50 per foot.

The specific amount of development rights being assigned to the Citadel project was not specified. RFR did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Citadel said they did not have a comment or explanation of the exact exchange the $10 million represented, only noting, “It’s just part of an overall package for the project.”

In the transaction, RFR Holding through the entity 477 Madison LLC as seller, executed the $10 million transaction with Citadel through the entity 350 Park DV LLC. The transaction is between the RFR Holding office building (O4) at 477 Madison Avenue and small office building (O2) at 39 East 51st Street which is part of the zoning lot for the planned high rise.

[Busy Bee]

It's just too bad they couldn't get their hands on the Madison buildings so they could develop a full-block tower complex and forgo the shifted core concept for a 270 Park style tower.

[NYguy]

^ There remains the option...



























Lots 27, 28, and 33 are the current footprint. The easement is with lot 21 (477 Madison).

[ChiND]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

It's just too bad they couldn't get their hands on the Madison buildings so they could develop a full-block tower complex and forgo the shifted core concept for a 270 Park style tower.

Does RFR’s Madison Avenue building have long-term leases that would require expensive buy outs? If so, maybe that’s why Citadel just bought air rights and not the whole building.

P.S.: I just read NY Guy’s ACRIS post (albeit quickly). It appears that Citadel may have an option to buy RFR’s building.

[NYguy]

Here's a little more on the easement...seems like there may be some sort of cantilever in the design, or just establishing that a neighboring building can't be built to block views.