Ken Griffin Lands $3.3 Billion Loan for 66-Story Park Avenue Tower, Months After His Feud With Mamdani
Citadel will lease more than a million square feet in the Manhattan tower. Citadel executives had earlier suggested the space could become a casualty of the mayor's policies.
A big Manhattan bet is going ahead. Fox Business reports that billionaire Ken Griffin, Vornado Realty Trust and Rudin have finalized a joint venture to build a 66-story office tower at 350 Park Avenue, backed by a $3.3 billion construction loan.
The deal. Vornado announced it Wednesday. Griffin, who founded and runs Citadel, will own 60 percent through an affiliate. Vornado holds 36 percent and Rudin 4 percent. Citadel Enterprise Americas has signed a lease for 1.05 million square feet, more than half the building's planned office space. The tower will total 1.9 million square feet, about 850,000 of it on upper floors still available to lease.
The lenders. Seven institutions are providing the loan: Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, BMO, ING Capital, PNC and Standard Chartered. Vornado says construction is already underway. Foster + Partners designed the tower, which will rise about 1,400 feet. As part of the Greater East Midtown rezoning, the project will put a combined $150 million toward upkeep of St. Patrick's Cathedral and Saint Bartholomew's Church by buying their development rights.
The feud. In April, Mayor Zohran Mamdani recorded a video outside Griffin's penthouse, naming him as a hedge fund owner who would pay the city's pied-a-terre tax on high-value homes not used full time. The tax took effect in July. Griffin called the video "creepy and weird" and said it put him in harm's way and showed a "profound lack of judgment." Citadel executives later suggested the new office space could be a casualty of Mamdani's policies. Fox reports the mayor then softened his tone and thanked Griffin for his contributions to the city.
Note for readers: Fox does not report that the feud changed or did not change the project's plans. We are passing along its account of the sequence of events only.