It’s very rare for a landlord to demolish an existing office building and reconstruct a brand new tower.  Accordingly, it is not atypical for an asset’s owner to refurbish the lobby, elevator cabs, corridors, facades and other common facilities within an existing asset.  As a broker, I see a tremendous amount of these upgrades. However, 1140 Avenue of the Americas is perhaps the greatest transformation I have ever seen.

Blackstone Group acquired the building in 2011 for about $100 million.  Since then, the private equity firm has dramatically repositioned the asset to become a premier boutique office building on Sixth Avenue.  Ownership upgraded the building’s elevator cabs, common corridors, lobby, facade and just about every other aspect of the tower.  As a result, the entire building has a brand new look & feel.

The most impressive part of the asset is the quality of the finishes in the built spaces.  Ownership uses a tremendous amount of wood, marble, glass and steel to give a contemporary, bright and airy look and feel.  The typical floorplate is 12,750 rsf and the landlord will reasonably divide to suit an incoming tenant.  Additionally, the landlord has began to pre-build office suites.  Asking rents throughout the building are about $85 psf.  Additionally, the landlord will consider finishing the units into plug and play, fully furnished office spaces.

Actual pictures and renderings below.