The Los Angeles-based bank signed a 15-year lease for a combination of office and retail space at 400 Park Avenue, including a 5,400 square foot retail banking outlet on the corner of 54th and Park, as was first reported by The New York Post. 

City National Bank's lease also includes 15,000 square feet on the second floor that will serve as a "dramatic two-story entrance," said Phillip (Tod) Waterman III of Waterman Interests, the landlord principal of 400 Park Avenue.

"[City National Bank] is exactly the kind of franchise we think is indicative of the value of the property and the neighborhood," Mr. Waterman told The New York Post. 

Waterman Interests, in a partnership with JPMorgan Asset Management, bought the leasehold for the 21-story building from Aby Rosen's RFR Realty for $35 million in 2010.

Syms had occupied a 70,000 square feet in the building, including its own entrance and elevators to all of its five floors.

Asking rents in the building are $75-$95 a square foot.

Floors 3-through-5 are the only vacancies remaining in the former Syms space. The building recently underwent a capital improvement program that brought in new elevators, a new security system, and new windows.

Old Syms signs are expected to come down in a week.

drosen@observer.com