Lever House Inks Leases After $100M Redevelopment

Lever House, the landmark Park Avenue office property open for business after a $100 million redevelopment, has scored three large leases.

Brookfield Properties and WatermanClark’s property at 390 Park Avenue quietly signed a global wealth management firm last year for the largest claim in the building. Northern Trust is leasing the 35,000-square-foot space on the second floor, which wraps entirely around the open courtyard.

Chris Corrinet of CBRE represented Northern Trust in the deal.

The firm is slated to move from 40 West 57th Street in early March, 11 years after first leasing in the LeFrak building.

Two more tenants have signed leases for almost 11,000 square feet each in the middle of the 21-story green glass tower, The Real Deal has learned. Sources say the Lever House deals were signed at a higher rent, around $200 per square foot.

Houston-based Quantum Energy Group is taking the entire 12th floor for its first office in the city, while London-based One Investment Management will relocate to the entire 11th floor.

Quantum was represented by Rob Lowe and Nicholas Dysenchuk of Cushman & Wakefield. OneIM, which is moving from One Bryant Park, was represented by Alexander Chudnoff and Kate Roush of JLL.

A CBRE team represented the developers, which took over the property in 2020 under a new ground lease.

Before the transfer in 2020, former owner Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs’ RFR Holding clashed with WatermanClark’s Tod Waterman. Rosen sued Waterman, accusing the developer of executing a deal with the Korein family, which owns the land under the office tower, that made Waterman Rosen’s landlord at the property.

After all the leases expired and the office tenants moved out, the owners gut-renovated the entire structure, tapping Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for the design work. “This renovation brings Lever House into the 21st century,” SOM partner Chris Cooper said in a press release.

Hospitality and wellness amenities were added to the third floor, which has a library and conference area, along with a full bar and private dining. The property also includes more than 13,000 square feet of outdoor terraces overlooking Park Avenue and East 54th Street.

The renovated lobby on the ground floor has a concierge and valet vehicle services for some tenants. The developers also renegotiated a lease with the Casa Lever restaurant, operated by the Saint Ambroeus Hospitality Group, to serve the amenity spaces.

The owners and brokers declined to comment and the companies did not respond to requests for comment.