Hedge fund Citadel and L&L Holding Co., developer of the 425 Park Avenue building, has signed an office space rental agreement for the soon to rise office tower. The lease is a record high $300 per square foot.
The almost 900 foot tall luxury tower is currently under construction between the East 55th and 56th streets, states Crains New York. However, Citadel has already signed a deal to rent around 200,000 square feet of the building. The rental agreement includes the building's penthouse, wherein the reported record high rate is about 50 percent higher than other rental fees in New York. The peak of the previous rent hikes in the city was reportedly around $200 per square foot.
David Levinson, chairman and CEO of L&L Holding Co., told Crains that the 425 Park Avenue tower is a unique kind of real estate property. The L&L Holding executive said, "This is the highest standard of building in the 21st century on the grand boulevard of America. It's blue on the Monopoly board. No one has created something like this."
In the report, Crains also mentioned that the 425 Park Avenue office tower has joined the list of previous properties in the city which reached or crossed the $200 rental rate. These properties includes the General Motors Building, 9 W. 57th Street and 667 Madison Avenue. However, other real estate projects may soon cross the $200 rental barrier or even top 425 Park Avenue's record high rental fee. These soon-to-rise properties are Time Warner Center, Park Avenue Tower, 1 Vanderbilt and an office cube at the foot of 432 Park Avenue. Even properties outside the city's midtown area are looking to get a share of the $200 per square foot rental rate. The boutique property under construction at 860 Washington Street will reportedly ask for a high rental fee.
Meanwhile, Citadel has reportedly taken it's time to finalize its decision to rent an office space at 425 Park Avenue, reports The Real Deal. News of Citadel's plan to lease a space in the L&L Holding property was first reported in July. The 425 developers had broken ground at the construction site in June.
The 425 Park Avenue office tower has a total of 670,000 square feet and was reportedly designed by Norman Foster.
