245 Park Avenue

History

The site used to be occupied by the second Grand Central Palace exhibition hall, which was demolished in 1964 to make way for 245 Park Avenue. The building was previously named for American Tobacco Company, American Brands, and Bear Stearns at various points in its history.

In 1987, Bear Stearns signed a lease for more than 500,000 sqft of space as its new headquarters and moved 3,000 of the company's employees into the building.

In November 2000, JPMorgan Chase leased 580,000 sqft in the building, creating a corporate campus with the company's nearby headquarters at 270 Park Avenue.

On March 20, 2017, Chinese conglomerate HNA Group announced a deal to acquire the building for $2.21 billion from Brookfield Property Partners and the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, one of the highest prices ever paid for a New York skyscraper. HNA financed the acquisition with a $1.75 billion loan from a consortium of lenders including J.P. Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Natixis and Societe Generale in addition to $568 million of mezzanine financing. CBRE Group and Cooper-Horowitz made the deal for the loan, acting as commercial mortgage brokers.

Following financial difficulties at HNA in 2018, the conglomerate committed to selling off $22 billion in stocks and real estate assets. Part of this commitment included the sale of a $148 million stake in 245 Park Avenue to office REIT SL Green, which was also appointed as property manager and leasing manager. SL Green took over the entire property in late 2022 after HNA went bankrupt. The next year, Japanese developer Mori Trust agreed to buy a 49.9% interest in the building from SL Green. By mid-2024, the owners were renovating the building and adding a golf lounge, restaurant, wellness center, and communal rooftop space; this renovation was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and Fogarty Finger. At the time, the building's mortgage was classified as a "loan of concern" because two large tenants were moving out. SL Green also announced plans to renovate the building's plaza in late 2024.

Tenants

• Ares Management, 98,095 sqft on floors 42-44
• HNA Group, 38,383 sqft on floor 40
• Houlihan Lokey, 115,396 sqft on floors 17, 19-20 & 32
• IWG, 38,382 sqft on floor 39
• JLL, 15,939 sqft on floor 16
• JPMorgan Chase, 90,708 sqft on floors 2 & 16
• National Australia Bank, 37,385 sqft on floor 28
• Norinchukin Bank, 36,346 sqft on floor 21
• Pioneer Financial, 14,252 sqft on floor 17
• Rabobank, 115,157 sqft on floors 36-38
• SEB, 20,695 sqft on floor 33
• Societe Generale, 593,344 sqft on floors 3-14
• MIO Partners on floor 13
• TPG Angelo Gordon, 113,405 sqft on floors 24-26
• Vestar Capital Partners, 22,502 sqft on floor 41
• WisdomTree Investments, 37,923 sqft on floor 35
• Woori Bank, 14,320 sqft on floor 43

References

References

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6. (March 10, 1987). "New Headquarters for Bear Sterns". The New York Times.
7. Bagli, Charles V.. (November 30, 2000). "Firms in Bidding War for Midtown Space". The New York Times.
8. Levitt, David M.. (March 20, 2017). "China's HNA Is Buying a NYC Office Tower for $2.21 Billion". Bloomberg.com.
9. (April 12, 2017). "HNA scores $1.75B loan for 245 Park buy". The Real Deal.
10. Putzier, Konrad. (May 1, 2018). "Sizing up NYC's debt brokerage powerhouses".
11. (November 30, 2018). "SL Green invests $148M for stake in HNA's 245 Park Avenue". The Real Deal.
12. Baird-Remba, Rebecca. (September 12, 2022). "SL Green Takes Over 245 Park Avenue".
13. Walter-Warner, Holden. (September 12, 2022). "SL Green takes over 245 Park Avenue".
14. Obe, Mitsuru. (November 11, 2023). "Japan's Mori Trust plans $8bn diversification after Park Avenue buy".
15. Bockmann, Rich. (June 26, 2023). "SL Green sells off 245 Park stake in breakthrough for office market".
16. Hallum, Mark. (2024-07-08). "Tradeweb Markets Moving to 76K SF at 245 Park Avenue".
17. (May 6, 2025). "245 Park Avenue Prepares For Renovations, Partial Re-Cladding in Midtown East, Manhattan".
18. Elstein, Aaron. (May 9, 2024). "Mortgage on SL Green's 245 Park Ave. deemed a 'loan of concern'".
19. Cuba, Julianne. (October 29, 2024). "SL Green proposing redesign of 245 Park's plaza to lure back workers".
20. (August 7, 2017). "UBS 2017-C3 Structural & Collateral Term Sheet". SEC.