BellTower Partners Leases 9K SF at Marx Realty’s 545 Madison Avenue

Private investment firm BellTower Partners has taken over the entire 15th floor of Marx Realty’s 545 Madison Avenue, the landlord announced. 

BellTower signed a 10-year lease for 9,000 square feet at the 18-story building at the corner of Madison Avenue and East 55th Street. Asking rent was $125 per square foot, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. Marx did not disclose if this is a new office or relocation for the firm. 

Tara Stacom from Cushman & Wakefield (CWK) represented Marx in the lease negotiations while Zachary Price and Neil King from CBRE (CBRE) handled it for BellTower. CBRE did not respond to a request for comment while Stacom declined to comment.

Marx Realty recently co-branded 545 Madison with French luxury crystal company Baccarat. Baccarat chandeliers, crystal drinkware and other branded accessories can be found throughout the building, while Baccarat itself occupies the 10,138-square-foot penthouse at 545 Madison, making its now namesake building its official U.S. headquarters. 

“We’ve had incredible success since repositioning the 545 Madison office tower,” Craig Deitelzweig, president and CEO at Marx Realty, said in a statement. “We have been able to attract premier investment firms as well as high-end luxury brands as a result of the dramatic repositioning and collaboration with Baccarat. This is the nation’s first co-branded office building, and the market has been responding strongly.”

In addition to BellTower and Baccarat, other tenants at 545 Madison Avenue include software developer GTS, private equity firm TruArc Partners, and Finnish investment company Helix Partners. 

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.