Convene has signed an 11-year lease to open a 29,800-square-foot venue for office meetings in 237 Park Avenue between East 45th and East 46th Streets, the firm and the landlords announced.
The space will occupy part of the lobby area of the RXR Realty and Walton Street Capital-owned building, which is undergoing $50 million in renovations, Convene’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Ryan Simonetti told Commercial Observer. He declined to release the asking rent.
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“The types of services that we are delivering for the tenants in the building is taking on more of a partnership relationship,” Mr. Simonetti said. “It is a value to a prospective tenant that is moving into the building from a leasing perspective. They can be more efficient, because they could build less meeting space internally.”
Convene at 237 Park Avenue will accommodate up to 250 seats, including a 150-seat open area. There will be private office suites, a lounge with a bar and a section for cooking presentations. Convene will offer tenant-only perks in the 21-story building, such as on-demand catering and 10 to 15 percent discounts for hosting events, which could cost between $90 and $250 per seat.
Construction of the Unispace Architects-designed build-out will begin next month, with the venue opening in February.
“Convene is the ultimate commercial tenant building amenity and our collaboration is an industry first that makes for a compelling, differentiated leasing proposition relative to new developments in Manhattan and trending submarkets,” William Elder, an executive vice president at RXR, said in prepared remarks.
The venue at 237 Park Avenue will mark Convene’s fifth location in New York City, and its sixth in the country.
CBRE’s Rocco Laginestra, Michael Wellen and Jared Freede represented Convene. RXR was represented in-house by Lauren Ferrentino.
Renovations at 237 Park Avenue include a new lobby and entrances on East 45th and East 46th Streets, redesigned atrium and upgraded retail throughout the first two levels of the building.
RXR and Walton bought the 1.2-million-square-foot building for $800 million two years ago from Lehman Brothers Holdings, as CO previously reported.
J. Walter Thompson, a marketing and communications firm, signed a 10-year lease renewal in June for its 270,000-square-foot space on the second through through sixth floors. Other major tenants in the building include investment firm Jennison Associates, and financial services companies UBS and Credit Suisse.
More dinning space at Convene's venue in 237 Park Avenue.
A rendering of a dinning area at Convene's venue in 237 Park Avenue.
A rendering of the lobby at Convene's space in 237 Park Avenue.
A rendering of a room at Convene's space in 237 Park Avenue.
A rendering of Convene's Club space in 237 Park Avenue.
