1271 Avenue of the Americas/ Photo courtesy: Rockefeller Group

NEW YORK CITY—Greenhill & Co. has signed a deal with Rockefeller Group to lease 78,000 square feet at 1271 Ave. of the Americas. The investment bank will occupy the full 20th and 21st floors of the iconic 48-story Rockefeller Center tower. Although additional lease terms were not disclosed, a source with knowledge of the transaction tells GlobeSt.com that the lease is for 15 years and the asking price was north of $100 per square foot.

Greenhill scooped up the last available full floors, bringing the building occupancy to 98%. Now available for rent are two partial floors, each approximately 20,000 square feet.

In 2016, Rockefeller Group began a comprehensive $600 million redevelopment designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. The renovations are scheduled for completion by the end of this year.

The capital improvements program showcases how some real estate firms are making major investments in older Midtown office buildings to successfully remain competitive with newer product. Since the project began, tenants have signed leases for approximately 1.9 million square feet in the Rockefeller Center building. In 2018, it scored three of the 50 largest Manhattan office leases, which was more than any other New York City building.

Greenhill is staying in Midtown East, and in 2020 relocating its headquarters from 300 Park Ave. “The renovated building offers us improved efficiency and high-quality service at a location that is convenient to our employees and clients,” says Hal Rodriguez, COO of the global, independent investment bank. He adds the move allows Greenhill to modernize their office layout and amenities as well as support future growth.

“Over the last three years, our team has worked with world-class architects, engineers, contractors, and tradespeople to reintroduce this iconic piece of the fabric of Midtown to the New York business community, and the response has been nothing short of phenomenal,” says Daniel J. Moore, president and CEO of Rockefeller Group. “With Greenhill, we've completed the journey from 100% vacant to nearly 100% leased in less than 18 months.”

Other office tenants that have signed onto the building since 2016 include Bessemer Trust, Blank Rome, H.I.G. Capital, Latham & Watkins and Major League Baseball.

CBRE's Michael Geoghegan, Andrew Sussman and Peter Gamber represented Greenhill. Rockefeller Group was represented by an in-house team of Ed Guiltinan and Jennifer Stein, and CBRE's Mary Ann Tighe, Howard Fiddle, John Maher, Evan Haskell and Dave Caperna.

Embedded in its architecture and location, 1271 Sixth Ave. maintains a sense of rich New York history. It's located between 50th and 51st streets across from Radio City Music Hall, which opened in 1932. Rockefeller Group and Time Inc. developed the building, which was called the Time Life Building referring to its original anchor tenant when it opened in 1959.

The architects for all of Rockefeller Center, Harrison, Abramovitz & Harris, designed the original structure and George A. Fuller Company, which also built the UN headquarters, the Seagram Building and Lever House constructed it.