SL Green takes bocce to another level — the roof

Bocce could be the best thing to hit workplace socializing since the water cooler.

SL Green’s 635 Avenue of the Americas will feature its very own rooftop bocce court when the renovations are complete in the spring.

Bocce, in which grapefruit-size balls are tossed down a narrow court in an attempt to get them near a smaller ball known as a pallino, is more typically associated with retirees of Italian descent in New York City’s outer boroughs than with Manhattan office space.

Maybe it was the popularity of the game at hipster-haven Union Hall in Brooklyn that inspired SL Green to add a court to the 80,000-square-foot building.

Jones Lang LaSalle broker Paul Glickman, who leads the brokerage team marketing the building, told The Real Deal that in his 30 years in real estate, this was the first building he’s seen with this particular amenity.

“There are lots of rooftop decks in New York City. SL Green wanted to do something that would actually be used by tenants as an amenity,” Glickman said.

“It’s an extension of the type of spaces that have foosball or ping pong for their employees,” he added. “It’s competitive, it’s fun, it’s creative and allows employees to take a short break from work.”

In November, software company Infor signed a long-term expansion lease on half of the building. The company opened its 43,000-square-foot headquarters at SL Green’s adjacent property — 641 Avenue of the Americas — in October 2012.

Since then, Infor has expanded rapidly; particularly its design team, Hook & Loop. A company spokesperson said the expansion into 635 will provide Infor with 50,800 square feet more space.

“We feel the rooftop amenities of the building, including the bocce court, will provide an environment that further promotes creative thinking and the exchange of ideas.”