SL Green's 1515 Broadway Gets $160M Redo

NEW YORK CITY-SL Green’s 56-floor 1515 Broadway is now undergoing a $160-million redevelopment program. The more than two-million-sf building, built in 1972, is located in the heart of Times Square on Broadway, between 44th and 45th streets.

Steven Durels, executive vice president and director of leasing and real property for SL Green, tells GlobeSt.com that the locally based firm had planned the redevelopment program all along, since it purchased the building in 2002 for $480 million. He pointed to Viacom’s lease expiring in 2010 as part of the reasoning for the redo, and explains that the first phase started when the firm repositioned all of the retail space.

1515 Broadway

“We are touching basically everything in the building,” Durels explains. The firm will redesign the glass facade, and extend the façade on the base floor “so that there will be a decorative glass wall that extends a few floors.” He adds that the architectural flourish “adds a little more pop” to the building. SL Green also plans to add new emergency generators, add a new lobby and entrance, upgrade HVAC capacity and control, add new elevators, increase electric capacity, and add new restrooms, onsite parking and column-free floor plates. Durels notes that the centerpiece of the lobby will include a 5,000-sf sculptural glass block wrapping the core of the building, which is being produced by a glass artist.

Durels

Current tenants at the property include Association for Computing Machinery, Serino Coyne Inc., and Viacom International Inc. Durels tells GlobeSt.com that the firm anticipates the redevelopment program to conclude by the end of next year, and notes that average asking rent in the building is $90 per sf. Four floors on the lower portion are currently marketed at $82 per sf. Current occupancy is 93%, he says.

As GlobeSt.com previously reported, SL Green is currently also underway with comprehensive redevelopment programs at three other buildings, namely 711 Third Ave., 810 Seventh Ave. and 16 Court St. in Brooklyn. Durels told GlobeSt.com at the time that the redo programs are consistent with SL Green’s strategy of “acquiring and repositioning well-located properties,” adding that SL Green consistently reinvests in its buildings.