299 Park Avenue

299 Park Avenue is an office building on Park Avenue between 48th and 49th streets in the Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.

299 Park Avenue
General information
StatusComplete
TypeCommercial/Office
Location299 Park Avenue
Manhattan, NY 10171
USA
Coordinates40.756173°N 73.974493°W / 40.756173; -73.974493
Construction started1965
Opening1967
OwnerFisher Brothers (50.5%)
Rockpoint Investments (49.5%)
Height
Roof175 m (574 ft)[1]
Technical details
Floor count42[1]
Design and construction
ArchitectEmery Roth & Sons
DeveloperFisher Brothers

History
Entrance to UBS Investment Bank's New York offices at 299 Park Avenue

Designed in the International Style by Emery Roth & Sons, the building was opened in 1967. It has 42 stories and is approximately 175 m (574 ft) tall. 299 Park is a black skyscraper with alternating shiny and matte thin stainless steel mullions emphasizing its height. The building contains approximately 1.2 million square feet (110,000 m2) of space.[2]

The building was constructed on the location of the original Park Lane Hotel.[3] The building was originally constructed over the primary rail tracks for Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line, which made the building's construction and engineering highly complicated. The foundation of the building was constructed through "ladder tracks", two layers of railroad tracks, not in platform position. The construction was completed without interfering with the operation of the railroad. In 1980 and then again in 1981, the building suffered damage from large fires—the 1980 fire caused injuries to 125 firefighters.[4]

For much of its history, the building was commonly referred to as the Westvaco Building and was the headquarters of Westvaco. Today, the company's successor, MeadWestvaco, continues to use the building as a regional office. The building was also the home of law firm Debevoise, Plimpton, Lyons & Gates[4] prior to leaving the building in 1983.[5]

Since its construction, 299 Park has majority owned and controlled by Fisher Brothers, a real estate investment group, that developed the site in the 1960s.[6] Fisher Brothers occupies the top two floors of the building for its headquarters. Prior to the financial crisis of 2008, UBS had owned a 49.5% interest in the building. The bank began an auction for its minority interest in the building in 2009 and sold its interest for $335 million in early 2010, implying a total valuation of just over $675 million. The buyer was Rockpoint Investments, a real estate investment firm.[2][7] UBS also sublet a portion of its space in the building in 2009.[8]

Pricing

According to media reports, subleases are available in the building for $25 per square foot ($270/m2), a very low price compared to similar properties on Park Avenue.[9][10]

Tenants

References
  1. "299 Park Avenue". Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  2. "UBS sells stake at 299 Park Avenue". Real Estate Weekly, January 8, 2010.
  3. The New York Chronology. HarperCollins, 2004
  4. "A Fire Causes Damage IN PARK AVE. SKYSCRAPER; In Park Ave. Skyscraper". The New York Times, April 6, 1981
  5. Realty News. The New York Times, January 10, 1982.
  6. "Larry Fisher, 93, Developer and Philanthropist". The New York Times, February 7, 2001.
  7. "UBS Sells 299 Park Avenue". Haute Living Magazine, January 11, 2010.
  8. "UBS sublets space at 299 Park Avenue amid $1.3B loss". The Real Deal, August 4, 2009.
  9. Cuozzo, Steve (November 9, 2020). "Rent to sublease office space on Park Avenue unbelievably low". New York Post. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  10. "Manhattan Office Sublease Discounts in Midtown East". The Real Deal New York. November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
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