The Plan: 10 Grand Central Gets a Train-Themed Tenant Lounge

Office workers at Marx Realty’s 10 Grand Central might be surprised not to see rail ties and crop fields flashing by when they look out the porthole-like windows of the The Galleries, a tenant lounge on the 11th floor.

That’s because the space looks just like a turn-of-the-century luxury train car, down to the rounded corners of the windows, oxidized copper finishes and fan pattern mosaic tile on the floor.

It’s an ode to the building’s Beaux-Arts heritage and a subtle reminder of its proximity to nearby Grand Central Terminal, the hub that weighs more heavily on companies’ decision to lease office space in the age of hybrid work, according to Marx President and CEO Craig Deitelzweig.

“We really wanted to make this space special and different than any other space in the market,” Deitelzweig said. “Tying it into train lines from the same period made all the sense in the world.”

In fact, Marx’s in-house design team, together with Studios Architecture, have been leaning into that concept throughout the 35-story building at the corner of East 44th Street and Third Avenue, beginning in 2019 with a $45 million lobby renovation and overhaul of the 3,000-square-foot terrace and lounge on the seventh floor.

Now tenants are getting another 11,000 square feet of amenities at The Galleries, including a cocktail bar, a town hall-style meeting room, a mini movie theater and a podcast studio.

The space, which will open in November, builds on motifs already sprinkled throughout the 438,000-square-foot property, designed in 1931 by Ely Jacques Kahn, including the color Marx dubs “10 Grand Central Green,” a warm olive shade that you might expect Mr. Green to wear in a game of Clue.

You’ll see the color on the couches lining the perimeter of The Galleries and the floor-to-ceiling drapes that break up the burlwood wall paneling.

Despite the retro design, the space is equipped with 21st century technology. That includes the recording equipment in the podcast studio, which is already booked through December, according to Deitelzweig.

Deitelzweig said his goal is to give tenants what they desire, and right now that’s an eclectic mix of work and play areas.

“Tenants really look at office buildings similar to hotels now,” he said.

The cross-pollination of the city’s hospitality sector and Class A office market in the wake of the pandemic is a trend Marx helped start across its half-dozen Manhattan office properties. At 10 Grand Central, which has an alternate address of 155 East 44th Street, the investment seems to be working.

The building has been fully occupied since early last year, Deitelzweig said. Attracting tenants also became easier when Marx got some buzz for dropping $100,000 on an electric Porsche Taycan as an amenity for the property in 2022.

“We want our tenants to love coming to work, to make it a joy to experience this type of space, and really show it off,” Deitelzweig said. “That’s why they come to the office time and time again.”