Plaza outside Rockefeller Group’s 1221 Sixth to get major redesign

The Rockefeller Group is planning a major overhaul at the former McGraw-Hill Tower On Sixth Avenue.

The company plans to renovate its indoor and outdoor plaza at 1221 Sixth Avenue, the New York Post reported. Italian architects Citterio-Viel & Partners are leading the redesign, which will elevate the public plaza to sidewalk level and feature a circular cutout that will allow light to reach newly created 35,000 square feet of below-grade retail.

The cost of the renovation wasn’t immediately clear, though a source told the Post it should fall in the “mid-to-high eight digits.” Bill Edwards, senior vice president at the Rockefeller Group, indicated that construction will start after the company finds an anchor tenant for the retail space. He expects the project to be finished by 2019.

In April, accounting firm Deloitte inked a 98,000-square-foot lease at the 2.65 million-square-foot office tower. Rockefeller owns 55 percent of the building, and the China Investment Corporation owns the rest. The sovereign wealth fund bought the stake from Canada Pension Plan for more than $1 billion last year. [NYP] — Kathryn Brenzel