Three new signings at H.J. Kalikow’s 101 Park Ave. totaling 77,400 square feet have brought the tower at East 40th Street near Grand Central Terminal to 98% leased.
In something of a coup, Peter Kalikow and his Cushman & Wakefield leasing team of John Cefaly and Nicholas Dysenchuk snared a former One Vanderbilt tenant — Cipher Digital, which took the entire top floor’s 26,400 square feet for its relocated headquarters.
Kalikow said, “The top floor of 101 Park is a very special place with expansive views in an efficient, column-free environment.”
Meanwhile, wealth-management firm Corient expanded by 24,600 square feet, bringing its footprint in the tower to nearly 100,000 sf. And law firm Sills Cummis & Gross took 26,400 for a relocation within the building.
We don’t know what Gary Barnett has in mind for the former Friars Club building at 57 East 55th St., which his Extell Development Corp. bought for $19 million, the Commercial Observer reported on Friday. But it can only be good even though the tiny limestone building’s treasure-trove of show business artifacts was sold at auction a few weeks ago. Like the Church of Sweden on East 48th Street and the former home of La Grenouille on East 52nd Street, it evokes a long-gone, more gracious New York era.
Although Friars is not a designated city landmark, Barnett’s unlikely to mess with its facade. The property is sandwiched between two tall towers and too narrow to support a large redevelopment. We look forward to the next chapter, whatever it is.
