Hedge Fund Verition Signs 73K-SF Lease at SL Green’s 245 Park Avenue

SL Green Realty just signed a 10-year, 72,512-square-foot lease with hedge fund Verition Fund Management at 245 Park Avenue. 

Verition is expanding its presence in the building by 34,413 square feet, and will be relocating from its 38,099-square-foot space on the 35th floor to the entirety of the building’s 14th and 15th floors, SL Green said. 

SL Green did not provide the asking rent. However, the New York Post reported in July that asking rent was $145 per square foot at 245 Park Avenue.

The Greenwich, Conn.-based Verition moved to the 35th floor of 245 Park Avenue in 2022, months before SL Green took over the property after a long legal battle with former owner HNA Group.

“We’re delighted to expand and extend our valued relationship with Verition Group,” Steven Durels, executive vice president and director of leasing and real property at SL Green, said in the statement. 

Durels also noted that 245 Park Avenue, which spans the full block between East 46th and East 47th streets, has been undergoing a “transformative redevelopment plan” aimed at drawing more tenants to the building. 

The plan for 245 Park Avenue includes a new lobby, new storefronts, a tenant-only wellness center, a new cafe, a rooftop garden, and a “jewel-like terra cotta overclad of the Park Avenue podium facade.”

Verition was represented in the deal by William Levitsky and John Cilmi of Newmark while Cushman & Wakefield’s Bruce Mosler, Harry Blair, Tara Stacom, Ron Lo Russo, Justin Royce, Pierce Hance and Will Yeatman brokered the deal for SL Green. Representatives for Newmark and C&W did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Other tenants at 245 Park Avenue include alternative investment manager Ares Management, European financial services provider Societe Generale, and global alternative investment manager Angelo Gordon. 

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