New York, NY – September 16, 2008 – (RealEstateRama) — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) announced today it has embarked upon an ambitious $160 million redevelopment of 1515 Broadway, the third largest building in the REIT’s 30-property New York City portfolio.
Following anticipated completion in late 2009, the upgrades at the 54-story, 2+ million-square-foot tower will elevate the building to “best of class” status. 1515 Broadway is located in world famous Times Square between West 44th and 45th Streets,
The most striking feature of the comprehensive renovation, which stands to significantly transform the tower’s appearance, will be a 42-foot vertical extension of the curtain wall atop the base floors and re-cladding of all exterior limestone surfaces with new brushed aluminum panels.
“One of our goals is to enhance the building’s imposing street stance, and articulate its most impressive features, namely the distinctive crown and corner fins, which are so prominently visible on the City skyline,” said Steven Durels, SL Green Executive Vice President and Director of Leasing and Real Property.
The plan also features a complete lobby redesign with 5,000 square feet of custom art glass wrapping the core walls; new elevator cabs; new common corridors and bathrooms. Additionally there will be significant infrastructure improvements that include increased electric capacity; HVAC upgrades; plumbing and fire protection improvements; and the addition of a new freight elevator serving the lower portion of the building. The redevelopment will include a silver LEED rating for energy efficiency.
“Building upon our track record of successful redevelopments, we have assembled a team of professionals with whom we will collaborate to ensure this renovation is commensurate with the prestige of the property’s strategic visibility,” said Edward Piccinich, Executive Vice President and Director of Management and Construction, who announced that the architect is Kone Pederson Fox, the construction manager is Tishman Construction and the engineers are Flack & Kurtz.
Acquired by SL Green in 2002, 1515 Broadway was among the skyscrapers that pioneered the transformation of Times Square to one of the City’s foremost office locations. Viacom is 1515 Broadway’s anchor tenant, occupying 1.3 million square feet.
About SL Green Realty Corp.
SL Green Realty Corp. is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, or REIT, that predominantly acquires, owns, repositions and manages Manhattan office properties. The Company is the only publicly held REIT that specializes in this niche. As of June 30, 2008, the Company owned 30 New York City office properties totaling approximately 23,719,200 square feet, making it New York’s largest office landlord. In addition, SL Green holds investment interests in, among other things, eight retail properties encompassing approximately 400,212 square feet, two development properties encompassing approximately 363,000 square feet and two land interests, along with ownership interests in 36 suburban assets totaling 7,867,500 square feet in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester County, Connecticut and New Jersey.
