NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG), a locally based developer and Manhattan’s largest office owner, has opened One Vanderbilt. The $3.3 billion office tower is located across the street from Grand Central Station in Midtown Manhattan.
Designed by Kohn Pederson Fox Associates, One Vanderbilt spans 1.7 million square feet. Rising 77 stories and 1,401 feet, it is the tallest commercial building in the Midtown area.
CBRE is the leasing agent for One Vanderbilt. SL Green developed the building in partnership with Houston-based Hines and the National Pension Service of Korea, according to the New York Post.
The local media outlet also reports that One Vanderbilt is currently 67 percent leased to companies such as TD Securities, Carlyle Group and KPS Capital Partners. SL Green will occupy 70,000 square feet at the building for its new headquarters. Move-ins are scheduled to begin before the end of the year. Asking rents range from $125 to $300 per square foot.
SL Green began assembling various tracts on the block between 42nd and 43rd streets and Madison and Vanderbilt avenues for the project more than 20 years ago, the Post reports. As part of the project, SL Green also made capital investments in surrounding infrastructure, including $220 million in subway improvements. Various lawsuits and negotiations to move existing commercial tenants out of their spaces delayed the start of vertical construction until October 2016.
An underground tunnel connects the building to Grand Central and the Long Island Railroad Terminal that is being constructed beneath it. The building itself houses more than 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space and various Class A amenities. The 57th, 58th and 59th floors will house an observatory that is slated to open in 2021.
Engineering News Record reports that the development team included several sustainability features in the design, such as a 50,000-gallon rainwater collection and treatment system and a 1.2-megawatt power and heating cogeneration system. In addition, the team is pursuing the highest level of LEED certification and intends to recycle 75 percent of its construction, demolition and waste products.
SL Green’s stock price opened at $45.42 per share on Monday, Sept. 14, down from $82 per share a year ago.
— Taylor Williams