RXR inks law firm to 700K sf lease at 450 Lexington

Scott Rechler’s RXR Realty has signed law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell to a 25-year extension at 450 Lexington Avenue. The lease, which calls for a $300 million renovation, could end up among the biggest in the five boroughs this year.

It also reflects the sentiment that if office landlords expect tenants to pay high rents, and tenants expect their employees to spend a lot of time in the office, that space had better be high-end.

RXR agreed to make “extensive capital improvements” across Davis Polk’s 23 floors and an additional 30,000-square-foot floor, bringing the total square footage of the lease to over 700,000, the building owner said in a press release.

Building upgrades include modernization of lobbies, elevators and workspaces, as well as the expansion of the building’s sky lobby with private outdoor terraces, new indoor/outdoor space, seating and planting. New gathering, meeting and eating spaces are to be constructed as part of the remodel.

The renovations, to feature a mix of modern and classic aesthetics that are “harmonious with the building’s historic structure,” will be designed by architecture firm Gensler, RXR said. Finishes will include stone, glass and wood alongside glazed entryways.

“As the needs of employers and the nature of work evolves, we are working constantly to ensure our spaces are keeping up with those changing demands,” Rechler, the CEO, said in a statement.

William Elder and Andrew Ackerman represented RXR in the transaction, along with Valerie Kelly and Neil Hood of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. A CBRE team including Lewis Miller and Munish Viralam, along with Scott Newmark of Meister Seelig & Fein, represented Davis Polk.

The newly-minted lease would double the length of Davis Polk’s stay at 450 Lexington Avenue. The law firm in 1989 took space in the building, which RXR bought in 2012, according to Commercial Observer.

Built in 1991, the 40-story Class A office tower between East 44th and East 45th streets was valued at over $600 million when previous owner Istithmar sold it to RXR. The price was $780 million, according to property records.

Though the rent wasn’t revealed, Midtown’s average annual asking rent was about $78.35 per square foot earlier this year, The Real Deal reported. Midtown South, in which 450 Lexington sits, saw its average rent inch up from $79.95 in the first quarter of 2022 to $80.33 this year.