Another day, another office landlord unveiling a midcentury modern-inspired amenity center.
This time it’s RXR, which converted 10,000 square feet on the second floor of 340 Madison Avenue into “The Parlor.” Designed by Parts & Labor, the space is outfitted with plenty of warm wood millwork, including a conference center that features wooden walls and doors. The doors have large panes of translucent glass, allowing people to see into both small meeting rooms and a large boardroom, all of which are reservable. The boardroom has floor-to-ceiling built-in wooden shelves.
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The space also has three simple midcentury couches — in orange, off-white and dark navy blue — arrayed around a low, dark wood table. The drop ceiling over the lounge is coffered into large boxes that extend a foot upward, with LED lights set inside. Rounding out the lounge is a pantry with a long, white marble bar that’s curved at one end and features a set of suspended metal shelves backed by mirrors. Tenants will have access to cups, bowls, mugs and plates, stainless steel appliances, and an espresso machine. There are even showers stocked with Aesop soaps and shampoos.
There’s also high-end vending machines operated by Tulu, which allow workers to buy snacks, beverages and toiletries, and to rent electronics such as a projector, a humidifier, gaming consoles, bluetooth speakers, virtual reality headsets, and even a hair dryer and a massage gun.
Work on the space began about a year ago, and was mostly complete by early January. Asking rents for available office space at 340 Madison range from the mid-$60s per square foot to the high $80s.
“We hadn’t had an amenity center in the building before,” said William Elder, an executive vice president at RXR. “We got a floor back from a tenant who ended up going to One Vanderbilt. Given the proximity to the lobby and the high ceilings, we thought it was an appealing offering for the tenants.”
RXR has renovated other portions of the 22-story, 750,000-square-foot building, revamping the lobby in a crisp, minimalist style and updating the mechanical systems and elevator cabs. The firm has also completed a few floors of prebuilt suites, which include private glass-walled offices, work-
stations and modern pantries.
The property between East 43rd and East 44th streets, near Grand Central, was originally a few different early 20th century office buildings, according to Elder. Harry Macklowe renovated and consolidated the buildings into one structure in the late 1990s, adding central heating and cooling, a new facade and a new lobby.
Rebecca Baird-Remba can be reached at rbairdremba@commercialobserver.com.
