NEW YORK CITY—In a quick wrap-up of three complex projects, L&L Holding Co.'s president and CIO Robert Lapidus provided a rapt audience Thursday at a Midtown luncheon sponsored by the B'nai Brith Real Estate Division with “case studies.”
In the loftily titled “Reimaging Buildings,” talk, he outlined all that L&L has done or is doing at 114 5th Ave., 195 Broadway and the company's crown jewel, 425 Park Ave. “We're about creating 21st century buildings for today's tenant,” Lapidus said.
L&L bought 114th 5th Ave. because “after 9/11, the Flatiron District emerged. This is a big building,” he says of the 350,000-square-foot tower, “we figure bigger floor plates can get quality tenants.”
L&L reconfigured the lobby to create a separate entrance for an anchor tenant. “It gives a someone own identity and decreases elevator congestion,” Lapidus explained. The building has undergone a $45 million renovation.
Recapitalization at $500 million last December increased the value of 195 Broadway. L&L is adding 15,000 square feet of lobby level stores to the 29-story “wedding cake building” and 20,000 square feet of retail space below grade, as well as on a portion of the roof. The lobby retail will include a restaurant, with the owner of that establishment expected to create a rooftop concept, revealed Lapidus.
Meanwhile, the plans for 425 Park Ave. are what really dazzled the crowd. “This is going to be the first block front development on Park avenue in 47 years,” according to Lapidus. The approximately
670,000-square-foot building will include a five-star restaurant and something like a car showroom or a Sotheby's in another lobby retail area. “It's not going to be a bank; we want to provide an elegant experience.”
The layout of floors also is a compelling factor, Lapidus asserted. “Every floor has four corner offices and you can see the whole floor when you get off the elevator which is great for the collaborative offices we want today. Floors four through 11 feature 14-foot floor-to-ceiling windows and we've built the building out so it's like you're floating over Park Ave. in glass. It's pretty special.”
Floors 28-47—which each span 14,000 square feet—have views of Central Park. “Most of the buildings on Park avenue don't have a view of the park,” said Lapidus.
There also will be a “club” or “amenity” floor, “it will be a space where people can take their own time out,” according to Lapidus. “It's going to have some very special amenities.” The building also will feature a 45-foot tall lobby. Construction is slated to start in May of next year, with the building scheduled for delivery in 2018.
Average asking rents for the space will include a 10-15% premium for new construction, with tenants getting a 7.25 return on costs. Lapidus expects his costs to break down to $1,200-1400 per square foot, and didn't balk at the suggestion of $2000 per-square-foot rents.
“I believe in capitalism,” he said.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
