Lease Extension at 450 Lexington Avenue Signed with Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP

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From Real Estate Weekly

RXR, one of the New York metropolitan area’s largest owners of Class A office and multifamily residential communities, is pleased to announce a 25-year lease extension with global law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Davis Polk). As part of the renewal, Davis Polk will be expanding its footprint at 450 Lexington Avenue by an additional floor, adding 30,000 square feet. The firm’s new footprint at the building will be over 700,000 square feet, constituting the largest lease in New York City in 2023 to date.

The 40-story Class A office tower, located conveniently near Grand Central Terminal between 44th and 45th Streets, is in a prime transit-oriented submarket that continues to be an attractive office destination for current and future employers. 450 Lexington was completed in 1991 and remains one of the newest and most impeccably maintained properties in midtown. 

“Davis Polk’s long-term commitment to 450 Lexington Avenue is another example that New York City’s office market is here to stay,” said RXR Chairman and CEO Scott Rechler. “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. We are thrilled that Davis Polk has once again committed to making 450 Lexington Avenue its home in New York City.”

In connection with the lease, RXR and its partners are investing over $300 million for extensive capital improvements throughout the building common areas and across Davis Polk’s 23 floors. The planned renovations will encompass the full modernization of lobbies and workspaces, including the addition of numerous amenities inside of Davis Polk’s premises focused on improving employees’day-to-day experiences and addressing their evolving needs.

Overall, the entire building will see extensive upgrades in the lobbies and elevators that include modern and timeless aesthetics that are harmonious with the building’s historic structure. Renovations are being designed by global architecture, design, and planning firm Gensler. New space configurations, lighting, finishes, and added architectural features such as striking stone, glass, and wood materials will complement feature ceiling elements and modern glazed entryways.

“We are thrilled that 450 Lex will continue to be our long-term home going forward and we are grateful for RXR’s collaboration in reaching a mutually acceptable outcome in the context of a challenging and difficult market environment,” said Neil Barr, Davis Polk’s Chair and Managing Partner. “We are embarking on a truly exciting, complete renovation that will transform the look and feel of our office and offer the Davis Polk community a uniquely modern, welcoming and collaborative space.”

The building’s “Sky Lobby” will also receive a full remodel. It will include private outdoor terraces and Loggia spaces for Davis Polk featuring new indoor/outdoor space, operable doors, seating, and planting. Additionally, Davis Polk will create new gathering spaces, meeting spaces, and culinary options throughout the firm’s premises.

“RXR is delighted to continue our longstanding relationship with Davis Polk,” said William Elder, EVP, Managing Director of RXR’s New York City Division. “450 Lexington Avenue is a dynamic asset with floorplates that allow for adaptability and creativity. Through our planned enhancements and infrastructure updates for the entire building to enjoy, including the reimagined offices and enhancements for Davis Polk’s headquarters, this office tower will continue to serve as a modern workplace destination.”

Read the full article here.

450 Lexington (From Wikipedia)

Tent city for 1,000 migrants prepares to open at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens

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By Arya Sundaram, The Gothamist, Published Aug 15, 2023

Shelter staffers get ready to welcome migrants to the tent city set up at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center Tuesday. They estimated about 100 would arrive on the first day the migrant center was in operation.
Arya Sundaram/Gothamist

A sprawling tent city for 1,000 migrants was set to open on Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of a state psychiatric hospital campus in Queens.

New York City hospital system and emergency management leaders said they expected to welcome 100 migrants to the grounds of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center by the evening.

The cluster of weatherized tents was erected in 10 days, and officials said there aren’t yet clear plans for how long they’ll be in place. Only single adult male migrants will be housed there. State leaders approved the use of the space and will foot the bill, city officials said during a tour of the site Tuesday.

City officials said they’ve struggled to process and place the influx of migrants, propping up more than 200 emergency shelter sites within the city and offering accommodations to some upstate — even amid legal disputes with communities that have tried to block them.

More than 150 new arrivals slept in line overnight outside the city’s main intake center for migrants late last month, a scene that caught the attention of national news outlets. Some migrants said they waited as long as five days outside the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown to register for help from the city.

“We’re here today because we’ve received help from the state,” Ted Long, senior vice president of Ambulatory Care and Population Health at the city’s hospital system, said at the Creedmoor site Tuesday. “The word for today is ‘collaboration,’ with New York state. And this facility is critically important to have more collaboration like that, so we never have to form a line again.”

Hundreds of new migrants have continued to arrive daily for the past few months, according to Fabien Levy, the city’s deputy mayor for communications. Some 60,000 are currently staying in the city’s care.

Dozens of rows of head-to-toe brown cots line the floor of a massive tent at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Facility migrant center.
Dozens of rows of head-to-toe brown cots line the floor of a massive tent at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Facility migrant center.Arya Sundaram/Gothamist

The pace of new arrivals is speeding up even as fewer migrants are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

Plans for the tent city spurred dueling protests, drawing hundreds of people this weekend. Some were in opposition to the plans, citing concerns about security and safety. A smaller rival group looking to welcome the newcomers also staged a counter-protest, Pix 11 reported.

Levy said while protestors are allowed to voice their opinions, they aren’t allowed to come on the property. He pointed to the security guards stationed on the premises 24 hours a day, and seven days per week.

“For those who are criticizing, we are out of good options. We are out of OK options. These are the only options left,” Levy said. “It’s a question of ‘Do you want people sleeping on the street, or do you want people sleeping on a cot?’”

In a massive tent at the Creedmoor site Tuesday, dozens of rows of head-to-toe brown cots lined the floor, and thermostats on the walls were set between 70 and 75 degrees. In a separate tent intended as a cafeteria, rows of plastic tables and chairs were set up facing a food buffet station with warming trays, refrigerators and packages of water bottles and Goldfish crackers.

Along the perimeter were several trailers with bathrooms. Some hyper-temporary congregate shelters across the city have contained just a few toilets for hundreds of residents, and one site went without any showers for weeks.

A Q43 bus stop is located on a nearby sidewalk feet away from the shelter entrance, but there isn’t much other public transportation near the site. The closest subway station, the Jamaica-179th Street station, is more than an hour’s walk away, and the closest Long Island Railroad station is about a 30-minute walk. Long said additional buses may be added.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards has also called on the city to create a community advisory board to work with the city on plans for the migrant shelter on the Creedmoor campus. City officials could not immediately confirm on Tuesday’s tour if such a group would be created.

Separately, the city’s Empire State Development agency is leading a plan to redevelop the Creedmoor campus, and some residents are advocating for thousands of affordable housing units to be built on the property.