Clayton Dubilier & Rice Doubling HQ in Move to 144K SF at 550 Madison
By Celia Young June 20, 2023 3:50 pm
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Private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) will more than double its New York City headquarters in a move to 144,000 square feet at 550 Madison Avenue.
CD&R inked a more than 10-year lease to relocate from 70,000 square feet at the Seagram Building. The firm will move to the 18th through 22nd floors and 26th floor of the Madison Avenue tower between East 55th and East 56th streets, according to landlord The Olayan Group.
Asking rent was close to the $150 per square foot seen at the nearby One Vanderbilt, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.
CD&R’s deal allows it to move into 550 Madison Avenue “immediately,” according to the source. But the firm still has four years left on its lease at RFR Realty’s Seagram Building, where it’s been headquartered since 1995, said AJ Camhi, RFR’s senior vice president and director of leasing.
A spokesperson for CD&R declined to comment on its plans for its Seagram Building space.
Olayan recently dropped $300 million to renovate the 41-story 550 Madison — upgrading its retail spaces, facade and public garden — and in 2021 nailed down insurance giant Chubb to 240,000 square feet in the landmarked tower.
“CD&R saw what we were doing with the building, how focused and environmentally thoughtful [it is], and it resonated with them,” said Erik Horvat, head of real estate at Olayan America. “It’s sustainable and forward thinking with a focus on hospitality. I think they saw that for their future headquarters as being important.”
Other tenants at the 850,000-square-foot property include investment firm Corsair Capital, French luxury designer Hermès and advisory business Junto Capital.
CBRE (CBRE)’s Mary Ann Tighe, Howard Fiddle, Arkady Smolyansky, Scott Gottlieb, Ben Joseph and Alice Fair represented the landlord in the lease. Newmark (NMRK)‘s Andrew Sachs and Ben Shapiro handled it for CD&R.
A spokesperson for CBRE declined to comment and a spokesperson for Newmark did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Celia Young can be reached at cyoung@commercialobserver.com.
