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56-535: Park Avenue Plaza is an office building at 55 East 52nd Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . The 575-foot (175 m) tall, 44-story building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) for development company Fisher Brothers and was completed in 1981. Despite its name, the building is not actually on Park Avenue , although it abuts the Racquet and Tennis Club building along

112-490: A $ 575 million CMBS loan. The financing consisted of a $ 460 million interest-only loan from Morgan Stanley and a $ 115 million mezzanine loan, At the time, the building was 99 percent occupied with 11 tenants. Morgan Stanley leased 400,000 square feet (37,000 m) of BlackRock's space in January 2022, and Evercore expanded its space again in 2024. The photographer Marvin E. Newman took photographs of Park Avenue Plaza while it

168-424: A building. Massing refers to the structure in three dimensions (form), not just its outline from a single perspective (shape). Massing influences the sense of space which the building encloses, and helps to define both the interior space and the exterior shape of the building. The creation of massing, and changes to it, may be additive (accumulating or repeating masses) or subtractive (creating spaces or voids in

224-577: A cafe and several storefronts. The space also hosted exhibits such as a showcase of sheet music, as well as musical performances. Additionally, a large homeless encampment congregated in the atrium during its operating hours. First Boston sold back its ownership stake in the building to Fisher Brothers in late 1987 for $ 80 million, in part to raise money for employee bonuses. In exchange, the company agreed to pay higher rent. Park Avenue Plaza continued to attract financial firms, including Tokai Bank , which leased several floors in 1989. First Boston occupied over

280-505: A direct relation to the visual impact a building makes, massing is one of the most important architectural design considerations. Massing also has an effect on building energy efficiency . A complex shape can present more opportunities for heat loss through the building envelope. Reducing the number of exterior walls, along with a low vertical surface area to floor area ratio (VFAR) decreases heat loss potential. Some architectural styles are closely associated with massing. For example,

336-403: A high volume of mail. First Boston tasked several employees with estimating the volume of mail it would receive. Park Avenue Plaza ultimately received its own ZIP Code, which allowed the delivery of mail that was addressed solely to "Park Avenue Plaza". By the mid-1980s, a Newsday writer said the atrium was one of several that was bringing "New York's shoppers in off the streets". The atrium had

392-494: A large open plaza. Fisher Brothers intended for the atrium to resemble a shopping arcade, namely Burlington Arcade in London. The middle of the atrium contains stainless-steel columns. There are eight columns with round corner, each measuring 3 feet (0.91 m) wide by 6 inches (150 mm) thick. The atrium contains two glass walls, which measure a combined 300 square feet (28 m) and contain illuminated glass-crystal tubes. There

448-494: A lobby, atrium, and mechanical equipment, enabling all the office stories to have windows facing Park Avenue. At the base of the building is an enclosed atrium measuring about 30 feet (9.1 m) tall and connecting the two entrances to the building's elevators. Each office story has about 28,000 square feet (2,600 m) of rentable area; the entire building covers over a million square feet. The building's design prompted mixed reviews upon its completion. Fisher Brothers acquired

504-484: A mass by removing parts of it). Massing can also be significantly altered by the materials used for the building's exterior, as transparent, reflective, or layered materials are perceived differently. It is widely accepted that architectural design begins by studying massing. From a distance, massing, more than any architectural detail, is what creates the most impact on the eye. Architectural details or ornaments may serve to reinforce or minimize massing. Because it has

560-451: A mezzanine-level elevator lobby. At the time of its opening, the atrium also had one of Midtown Manhattan's few public restrooms. The atrium contains a public shopping arcade, which was not required as part of the zoning bonus. The storefronts cover 20,000 square feet (1,900 m) and originally contained bow windows as well as brass and granite decorations. The space also has green marble walls with dark green glass. For several years in

616-426: A set of crossbeams on the ninth floor. The columns on these stories are attached to the crossbeams. Each office story contains 12 corners and covers about 25,000 square feet (2,300 m) or 28,000 square feet (2,600 m) of area. As an energy-efficiency measure, each story had individual climate controls, rather than a master control for the entire building. The top ten floors are connected by an open stairway, and

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672-421: A third of the building, paying over $ 60 per square foot ($ 650/m) until its lease expired in 1996. First Boston decided to move to 11 Madison Avenue , where the trading floors were more than twice as large as the 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m) trading floors at Park Avenue Plaza. The building's average rental rate was expected to decline following the relocation, making it harder for Fisher Brothers to pay off

728-469: A tower without any setbacks. The base of the tower is the same height as the Racquet and Tennis Club Building's cornice line. The main entrances are through revolving doors on 52nd and 53rd Streets. The facade is made of blue-green reflective panels of glass, alternating with silver mullions . SOM had chosen that color because they had wanted the facade to blend in with those of neighboring buildings, although

784-661: Is a list of notable places within one block of 52nd Street. The section between Eleventh and Tenth Avenues is signed "Joe Hovarth Way" in tribute to Joseph Hovarth (1945–1995) who located the Police Athletic League William J. Duncan Center on the block after moving from its original location. The Duncan Center is named for a patrolman who was shot while chasing a stolen car in the neighborhood on May 17, 1930. The block between First Avenue and FDR has been subject of an attempt to designate it as its own neighborhood. In W. H. Auden 's poem " September 1, 1939 ", about

840-463: Is also a glass reception desk measuring 66 feet (20 m) long. The atrium contains a large painting by Frank Stella , a pair of brass sculptures with "organic" motifs by William Crovelli , and a waterfall on the eastern wall. The space contains tables and chairs and was originally planted with small ficus trees. To accommodate the plantings, the atrium had bright lighting with an intensity of about 200 foot-candles . A set of escalators lead up to

896-418: Is formally co-named "Swing Street" and one block west is called " W. C. Handys Place". The 21 Club was the sole surviving club on 52nd Street that also existed during the 1940s. It closed in 2020. The venue for the original Birdland at 1674 Broadway (between 52nd & 53rd), which came into existence in 1949, is now a strip club. The current Birdland is on 44th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues. This

952-414: Is on his album Sea Is a Lady . The Twilight Zone , episode 32, " A Passage for Trumpet ", refers to the jazz clubs of 52nd Street. Van Morrison 's 1972 song " Saint Dominic's Preview " includes the lyrics "And meanwhile we're over on a 52nd Street apartment/Socializing with the wino few". Daniel Okrent invented Rotisserie League Baseball, a form of fantasy baseball , in 1979. The name comes from

1008-415: The E and ​ M trains), is directly across 53rd Street. Park Avenue Plaza was designed by Raul de Armas of the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). It was built for the development company Fisher Brothers . The structure measures 575 feet (175 m) tall. To erect a larger building than would have normally been allowed on the site, Fisher Brothers acquired air rights from

1064-544: The Second World War , Auden narrates himself as being on 52nd Street. A 1948 amateur recording of Charlie Parker at the Onyx Club , Bird on 52nd St. , was released by Jazz Workshop in 1957. Billy Joel has a studio album titled 52nd Street . The songs, including the hit single " Honesty ", have a jazz flavoring not found on his other albums. Toshiki Kadomatsu wrote a song titled "52nd Street 'Akiko ' ", which

1120-556: The September 11 attacks the previous year. Aon moved its employees out of the building in 2006 but continued to sublease 270,000 sq ft (25,000 m) to other tenants. Another large tenant, ABN AMRO , also moved out around this time. These firms subleased space to companies such as investment management firm BlackRock , financial services company Evercore , and alternative asset management firm Fairfield Greenwich Group . Additionally, Intercontinental Exchange had some space in

1176-444: The $ 252 million that it still owed on the building's mortgage. Subsequently, Swiss Re leased six floors at the top of the building in late 1996. The next year, the city government gave tax incentives to financial group ING Barings if the company agreed to lease space at Park Avenue Plaza and add jobs during that period. Insurance company Aon relocated to Park Avenue Plaza in 2002 after the company's old headquarters were destroyed in

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1232-501: The 1970s, Fisher Brothers had been negotiating with the Racquet and Tennis Club to buy the unused air rights above the latter's clubhouse. The firm had already acquired a site behind the clubhouse on 52nd and 53rd Streets, and it had hired SOM to design a 15-sided office building facing Park Avenue. The project was one of several large office buildings proposed in New York City after the mid-1970s recession. The developers planned to name

1288-465: The Racquet and Tennis Club Building and from the CBS Studio Building. The building has a 15-sided massing , with wide diagonal chamfers to its northeast and southeast. The building's wide northeastern and southeastern elevations converge at the middle of the block. The narrow eastern elevation contains a central groove facing Park Avenue. According to architectural critic Paul Goldberger ,

1344-700: The abundance of jazz clubs and lively street life. The street was convenient to musicians playing on Broadway and the 'legitimate' nightclubs and was also the site of a CBS studio. Musicians who played for others in the early evening played for themselves on 52nd Street. In the period from 1930 through the early 1950s, 52nd Street clubs hosted such jazz musicians as Louis Prima , Art Tatum , Fats Waller , Billie Holiday , Trummy Young , Harry Gibson , Nat Jaffe , Dizzy Gillespie , Thelonious Monk , Charlie Parker , Miles Davis , Marian McPartland , and many more. Although musicians from all schools performed there, after Minton's Playhouse in uptown Harlem , 52nd Street

1400-556: The amount of rentable floor area in the new building by 20 percent, raising the floor area ratio from 15 to 18. Fisher Brothers agreed to maintain public restrooms and add a cafe to the galleria. The developers also proposed allocating $ 100,000 toward the renovation of the Fifth Avenue/53rd Street station. The New York City Planning Commission (CPC) voted 4–2 to approve the galleria bonus in May 1978. Two commissioners had voted against

1456-484: The atrium as "an elegant, two-story glass-enclosed space". According to Kayden, the space had all the elements of a successful public space because of its chairs and tables, eateries, waterfall, presence of maintenance staff, and "sense of security". 52nd Street (Manhattan) Following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, 52nd Street replaced 133rd Street as "Swing Street" of the city. The blocks of 52nd Street between Fifth and Seventh Avenues became renowned for

1512-443: The avenue. Rather, the building is in the middle of a city block , with entrances on 52nd and 53rd Streets . The building has a 15-sided massing , with wide diagonal facades to its northeast and southeast, as well as a deep notch on its east. Park Avenue Plaza's facade is made of blue-green reflective panels of glass. The building has one basement, shallower than in other nearby skyscrapers. The building's lowest ten stories include

1568-473: The building "Park Avenue Plaza", though the Manhattan borough president 's office had to approve this name. Fisher Brothers wanted to build an entrance to its office building through the clubhouse, but the firm and the club were unable to agree on this aspect of the design. Instead, the developers' lawyer Samuel H. Liddenbaum requested a Park Avenue address from the borough president's office, and he proposed that

1624-470: The building as "a bulky glass prism ". Conversely, architectural critic Martin Filler thought the building's facade was "virtually identical to those SOM has been producing for over 30 years", saying the material drew attention to Lever House, which by comparison "seems pathetically shrunken" by Park Avenue Plaza's presence. Goldberger characterized the atrium in 1982 as "too small and tight in its feeling to be

1680-528: The building include an enclosed atrium or galleria. Negotiations between Fisher Brothers and the Racquet and Tennis Club were halted after the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) announced in 1978 that Fisher Brothers could not only have an address on Park Avenue, but also up to 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m) of additional office space, if the developers built a 60-foot-high (18 m) galleria. The "galleria bonus" would increase

1736-411: The building opened in 1981. First Boston , a major tenant, owned a minority stake in the building until 1987. The Boston-based Rockpoint Group bought a 49% stake in 2010, selling it in 2011 to SOHO China . Park Avenue Plaza is at 55 East 52nd Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is in the middle of the block bounded by 52nd Street to the south, Madison Avenue to

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1792-490: The building's base were still not completed by early 1982. Because the building was about 100 feet west of Park Avenue, the United States Postal Service would not deliver mail addressed solely to "Park Avenue Plaza" unless it was also addressed to 55 East 52nd Street. This prompted Fisher Brothers to apply for a unique ZIP Code for the building, which required that the owners prove that the tenants would receive

1848-599: The building, but their leases expired in 2023. Concurrently, several other companies expanded their space in the building, including Evercore and General Atlantic . Fisher Brothers temporarily removed the atrium's seats during the COVID-19 pandemic ; the seating areas were restored by 2021. Jennison Associates also leased space at the building in early 2021, with plans to move into the building after BlackRock moved out. Fisher Brothers refinanced Park Avenue Plaza in October 2021 with

1904-447: The building. The Boston-based Rockpoint Group bought a 49 percent ownership stake in July 2010 for $ 330 million. The next year, Rockpoint sold its stake for $ 569.1 million to Chinese investment firm SOHO China , a firm controlled by Chinese real estate magnate Zhang Xin . As a result of these sales, the building's valuation increased from $ 695 million to $ 1.19 billion in a single year. In

1960-472: The club submitted formal plans for a 35-story luxury hotel. As a result, in November 1978, Fisher Brothers opted not to accept the galleria bonus from the city, and it resumed negotiations with the Racquet and Tennis Club. The firm paid the club $ 5 million to not build the hotel, instead acquiring the clubhouse's air rights. This provided funding for the club's protection while also allowing Fisher Brothers to obtain

2016-488: The color contrasted with the tan-brick facade of the Racquet and Tennis Club Building. At the time of Park Avenue Plaza's completion, Lever House (also designed by SOM) was the only other nearby building with a blue-green glass facade. The facade contained a lightly glazed finish, which reflected heat during the summer. The building has one basement, shallower than in other nearby skyscrapers, since basement offices were generally not attractive to commercial tenants. This reduced

2072-451: The costs of constructing the foundation. The building's lowest ten stories include a lobby, atrium, and mechanical equipment. The mechanical floors cover 241,000 square feet (22,400 m). By placing the mechanical stories near the bottom of the building, this allowed all of the office stories to have windows facing Park Avenue. There is an elevator core at the center of the building with shafts for 21 elevators. The office stories rise above

2128-476: The enclosed public square that it aspires to be, but it is a lot more grandiose than the average lobby". Goldberger changed his stance several years later, saying: "Years of use have mellowed this space, and it has turned into one of the most viable indoor plazas we have." Richard F. Shepard wrote for The New York Times in 1989 that the atrium had a "warmth that almost contradicts its wall-size waterfall and its manicured interior architecture". Jerold Kayden described

2184-402: The first tenants signed leases at these relatively low rates. Fisher Brothers then acquired the adjacent CBS Studio Building to protect westward views from the new tower. In the first phase of construction, workers poured concrete footings atop the bedrock, embedding steel bolts into the footings. Workers then bolted steel girders to the bolts, using two derricks to bolt the girders together as

2240-404: The measure on the grounds that the galleria would provide little "public benefit". By early 1978, the new building was planned to cost $ 82 million. That March, the Racquet and Tennis Club informally proposed the construction of a 38-story hotel above its clubhouse, to be designed by Jonathan Morse, a club member. This would have blocked most eastward views from Fisher Brothers' building. In August,

2296-411: The mid-2010s, Janson Goldstein redesigned the atrium, which was renovated in 2016 for $ 40 million. The atrium continued to host events such as a design competition for Park Avenue. Fisher Brothers received a $ 75 million mezzanine loan from New York Life in 2018. At the time, Swiss Re had indicated its intent to move out of the building, as did McKinsey. BlackRock and Aon collectively leased nearly half of

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2352-412: The name of the restaurant, La Rôtisserie Française restaurant on New York City's East 52nd Street, where he first suggested the idea to his friends. Notes 40°45′27″N 73°58′15″W  /  40.75750°N 73.97083°W  / 40.75750; -73.97083 Massing Massing is a term in architecture which refers to the perception of the general shape and form as well as size of

2408-459: The presence of the groove makes the eastern elevation "appear smaller still". The groove is aligned with the three arches at the center of the Racquet and Tennis Club Building's facade . There are similar grooves on other elevations of the facade, which were intended to reduce the building's perceived scale. Early plans for the building had called for setbacks at two places, matching the heights of neighboring buildings, but SOM's final plans called for

2464-529: The project was held in March 1979. At the time, 861,000 square feet (80,000 m) of office space had already been leased by insurance company Alexander & Alexander, financial-services firm First Boston , and management consultant McKinsey & Company . Alexander & Alexander ultimately canceled its lease, although First Boston took 16 floors and McKinsey took five floors. Fisher Brothers initially charged rents of $ 22 to $ 23 per square foot ($ 240 to $ 250/m), and

2520-422: The proposed "Park Avenue Plaza" name. In December 1978, the city government's Industrial and Commercial Incentive Board granted Fisher Brothers a $ 6.6 million tax abatement to be payable over ten years. The abatement was approved even though commission staff had privately recommended against it. The building was conceived as a speculative development without any anchor tenant in mind. A groundbreaking ceremony for

2576-400: The protests. The ground-floor atrium had opened by August 1981, and tenants had started to move into the building. The same year, Banque de Paris et des Pays Bas subleased some space from First Boston, and First Boston bought a 22% ownership stake in the tower. That September, Fisher Brothers reportedly negotiated to sell the building to a Middle Eastern investment group. The retail stores in

2632-532: The same amount of floor space that it would have received through the zoning bonus. The CPC gave Fisher Brothers permission to reduce the atrium's height in exchange for two additional office floors, the construction of which would pay for the air rights. Morse refused to say if the club had actually planned to act on the hotel proposal. Christopher Gray described the move as "perhaps the biggest game of real estate 'chicken' ever played in New York". The city also approved

2688-440: The site in the 1970s and proposed constructing a ground-level atrium in exchange for additional space. Construction commenced in March 1979 following negotiations with the Racquet and Tennis Club, which had threatened to build a hotel above its own building. The building was conceived as a speculative development and 90% of the space had been leased before construction was completed. Fisher Brothers has operated Park Avenue Plaza since

2744-479: The street which were transmitted across the country. By the late 1940s, the jazz scene began moving elsewhere around the city and urban renewal began to take hold of the street. By the 1960s, most of the legendary clubs were razed or fell into disrepair. The last jazz club there closed in 1968, though one remains as a restaurant. Today, the street is full of banks, shops, and department stores and shows little trace of its jazz history. The block from 5th to 6th Avenues

2800-500: The superstructure rose. Accounting firm Main Hurdman & Cranstoun leased seven floors in the building in June 1979. By the end of that year, fashion firm Elizabeth Arden, Inc. had also agreed to occupy four floors. Though Park Avenue Plaza was about 10 percent complete at the time, nearly 90 percent of the space had been leased, with 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m) still available. As

2856-400: The superstructure was being erected, the contractors constructed corrugated steel decks on each story, then poured concrete over each of the corrugated-steel decks. Workers then sprayed a layer of fireproofing onto the superstructure. A group of demonstrators stormed the construction site in 1980, claiming that Fisher Brothers had not hired enough minority workers; one worker was injured during

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2912-459: The top story has a ceiling height of 10.5 feet (3.2 m). In the late 1990s, insurance company Swiss Re redesigned the top six floors of the building, cutting off the open stairway below the 39th floor. At the base of the building is an enclosed atrium measuring about 30 feet (9.1 m) tall and connecting 52nd and 53rd Streets. The space was built in exchange for a zoning bonus; its presence contrasted with neighboring buildings that featured

2968-422: The west, 53rd Street to the north, and Park Avenue to the east. Despite its name, Park Avenue Plaza is not actually situated on Park Avenue, nor does it have a plaza. The tower abuts the Racquet and Tennis Club Building , which actually is on Park Avenue, to the east. The tower's name had been conceived as a way to add prestige to the midblock site. Park Avenue Plaza is assigned its own ZIP Code , 10055; it

3024-568: Was one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that had their own ZIP Codes as of 2019. Nearby buildings include CBS Studio Building and Omni Berkshire Place to the west; 488 Madison Avenue to the southwest; 345 Park Avenue to the southeast; the Seagram Building to the east; 399 Park Avenue to the northeast; and Lever House to the north. In addition, an entrance to the New York City Subway 's Fifth Avenue/53rd Street station (served by

3080-419: Was the second most important place for the dissemination of bebop . In fact, a tune called " 52nd Street Theme " by Thelonious Monk became a bebop anthem and jazz standard. Virtually every great jazz player and singer of the era performed at clubs: 52nd Street, between 6th & 7th Avenues 52nd Street, between 5th & 6th Avenues Disc jockey Symphony Sid frequently did live broadcasts from

3136-502: Was under construction. In a 1981 exhibit of Newman's photographs, the Municipal Art Society described the building as "leaping with tyrannical self-confidence out of the middle of the block". After the building opened, Paul Goldberger wrote in 1982 that the building "is an earnest, if tame, example of the genre of the abstract tower that we are seeing more and more of around the country". The AIA Guide to New York City described

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