SL Green to Open a Summit Observatory in Paris
By Isabelle Durso July 22, 2024 5:30 pm
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A new batch of Americans is ready to say “bonjour” to Paris: SL Green (SLG) Realty.
The New York City commercial real estate giant is opening a new location of its observatory, the Summit, in the French capital, after the success of its first one at Midtown’s One Vanderbilt.
SL Green CEO Marc Holliday announced the first international Summit location last week and said details would be released in the fall. A spokesperson for SL Green did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment. The news was first reported by Crain’s New York Business.
“To everyone listening in Paris, ‘a bientôt,’ and see you soon,” Holliday said during a conference call last week.
The Paris observatory is a first outside of the United States for SL Green, which made its name owning office buildings around Manhattan — a focus that has hurt the real estate investment trust as the city’s office market faltered.
SL Green opened the four-level observation deck atop the 93-story One Vanderbilt in 2021. Summit One has 65,000 square feet of entertainment space and saw over 1.4 million visitors in its first year, according to its website.
The observatory features mirrored walls and floors, an outdoor terrace, a glass elevator on the exterior of the building and glass-floored booths overlooking Madison Avenue. Tickets start at $43, with Summit generating north of $100 million in revenue annually for SL Green.
A new Summit in Paris would help SL Green become less dependent on its office buildings in New York City, which account for nearly 90 percent of the company’s 30 million-square-foot portfolio.
And the Paris observation deck isn’t the only way SL Green is trying to expand away from office. It’s also rolling the dice to win approval to build a casino inside 1515 Broadway, tapping Caesars Entertainment and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation for its bid.
Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.
