UN breaks ground on $2B renovation

The United Nations has officially launched its $2 billion renovation with the groundbreaking of a temporary office on the northern lawn of its campus, east of First Avenue. The project, slated for completion in 2013, will modernize the outdated headquarters, which haven’t been refurbished since being built in 1952. The temporary building will host UN meetings, while staffers will be relocated to nearby buildings. The UN recently signed a six-year lease for 460,000 square feet of office space at 380 Madison Avenue. Last summer, it signed a deal to lease the vacant Albano Building, a 187,000-square-foot nearby property.