Park Avenue Tower (also 65 East 55th Street) is a building on
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
, between
55th Street and
56th Street, in
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The office building developed by Park Tower Realty opened in 1986 and has a height of . Park Avenue Tower has 36 floors, which can be reached with seventeen elevators. Designed by
Murphy/Jahn Architects
Helmut Jahn (January 4, 1940 – May 8, 2021) was a German-American architect, known for projects such as the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany; the Messeturm in Frankfurt, Germany; the Thompson Center in Chicago; One Liberty ...
in
postmodern style, Park Avenue Tower is made of stone, steel and glass. The floor plan of the building is a square with flattened corners and the tower narrows as it increases in height. There is a pyramid-shaped structure on the roof of the building that is not visible from the street.
In front of the Park Avenue Tower main entrance on 55th Street is a
Privately Owned Public Space
Privately owned public space (POPS), or alternatively, privately owned public open spaces (POPOS), are terms used to describe a type of public space that, although Private property, privately owned, is legally required to be open to the public un ...
with six polished granite planters. The building can be accessed through four entrances, one on 56th Street and three on 55th Street. The entrance on 56th Street and the middle entrance on 55th Street lead to the multi-story lobby. The walls of the lobby are made of granite and marble. The east entrance on 55th Street used to lead to the office of law firm
Paul Hastings
Paul Hastings LLP is a global law firm that represents a client base in finance, M&A, private equity, and litigation.
The firm specializes in white collar and government disputes, energy, infrastructure, and intellectual property. Paul Hastin ...
, which had an area of and was spread over sixteen floors.,
though Paul Hastings has since relocated to the
MetLife Building
The MetLife Building (also 200 Park Avenue and formerly the Pan Am Building) is a skyscraper at Park Avenue and 45th Street, north of Grand Central Terminal, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed in the Internation ...
. The fourth entrance leads to
Restaurant Aquavit
Aquavit is a Scandinavian restaurant located at 65 East 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. In November 2016, an outpost was launched in London by Philip Hamilton.
History
Aquavit was created and opened by Håkan Swahn in 1987. and ...
, a restaurant with two
Michelin stars
The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...
.
Site
Park Avenue Tower is located in
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
on the west side of
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
between
55th Street and 56th Street. The building is close to four
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
stations in the immediate area:
Fifth Avenue-59th Street (serving the ),
57th Street (),
Fifth Avenue/53rd Street (), and
Lexington Avenue/59th Street ().
Park Avenue Tower borders three buildings, namely the
Café Cosí in the northwest, the
New York Friars Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City. Famous for its risqué roasts, the club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Founded in 1904, it is located at 57 East 55th Street, between Park Avenue and Madi ...
in the southwest and 430 Park Avenue in the east. On the other side of 56th Street is
432 Park Avenue
432 Park Avenue is a residential skyscraper at 57th Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, overlooking Central Park. The tower was developed by CIM Group and Harry B. Macklowe and designed by Rafael Viñoly. A part of ...
, while on the other side of 55th Street are Park Avenue Place, the Heron Tower and 410 Park Avenue. In addition,
550 Madison Avenue
550 Madison Avenue (formerly known as the Sony Tower, Sony Plaza, and AT&T Building) is a postmodern skyscraper at Madison Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Philip Johnson ...
is to the west and
590 Madison Avenue
590 Madison Avenue, also known as the IBM Building, is a skyscraper at 57th Street and Madison Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and Associates the 41-story, -tall tower was dev ...
is to the northwest.
History
In 2007,
Macklowe Properties
Harry B. Macklowe (born 1937) is an American real estate developer and investor based in New York City.
Early life
Macklowe was born to a Jewish family, the son of a garment executive from Westchester County, New York. He graduated from New Roc ...
bought the Park Avenue Tower along with five other buildings in New York for $7 billion from the
Blackstone Group
Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate b ...
, which had acquired the building by acquiring
Equity Office Properties
EQ Office is a real estate investment company that owns 80 office properties comprising 40 million square feet. The company is owned by funds managed by The Blackstone Group. The company was formerly known as Equity Office.
History
The company w ...
, the previous owner. One year later, in the summer of 2008, the building, along with the 21-story 850 Third Avenue, was sold to
Shorenstein Properties
Shorenstein is a real estate investment company based in San Francisco that owns interests in of office space throughout the United States. The company has sponsored twelve closed-end real estate funds, with total equity commitments of $8.8 bill ...
for $930 million, as Macklowe Properties faced challenges during the credit crisis. At the end of 2013, it was announced that
Grocon
Grocon is an Australian privately owned development, construction and funds management company. Founded in Melbourne in 1948, it expanded to operate in India and the Middle East. In November 2020, parts of the company were placed in voluntary ...
wanted to buy the Park Avenue Tower for $500 million, which later became $775 million. In the spring of 2014, that deal was canceled when Grocon could not raise sufficient funding. Grocon had secured a $530 million loan from
Jones Lang LaSalle
Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) is a global commercial real estate services company, founded in the United Kingdom with offices in 80 countries. The company also provides investment management services worldwide, including services to insti ...
, but could not obtain further funding. In July 2014, the building was sold again to a previous owner, Blackstone Group for $750 million
References
External links
*
Shorenstein – Park Avenue TowerAccessed on 22 July 2014
"Park Avenue Tower Trade Comes Undone" Real Estate Alert (2 April 2014) Accessed on 23 July 2014
{{Park Avenue
Park Avenue
Midtown Manhattan
Office buildings in Manhattan
Office buildings completed in 1986
Helmut Jahn buildings
1986 establishments in New York City