- Ken Griffin, Vornado and Rudin secured a $3.3 billion construction loan from lenders led by Wells Fargo and JPMorgan for a 66-story Park Avenue office tower.
- Citadel signed a lease for more than 1 million square feet, leaving 850,000 square feet for the market, and the joint venture closed with Griffin at 60%, Vornado 36% and Rudin 4%.
- The financing follows a clash with Mayor Mamdani that put the project in doubt, and shows lenders will fund trophy office construction when an anchor tenant is signed.
Ken Griffin, Vornado Realty Trust and Rudin have financed a new Park Avenue office tower with a $3.3 billion construction loan, Bloomberg reports.
Wells Fargo and JPMorgan led the lender group for the 66-story tower. Griffin’s Citadel also leased over a million square feet.
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Who Owns What
The partners closed their joint venture alongside the financing. Griffin holds 60% through an affiliate, Vornado 36% and Rudin 4%.
The tower will put 850,000 square feet on the leasing market after Citadel’s space.
From Earnings Call to Closing
This deal first surfaced in August. We reported that Vornado CEO Steven Roth said on the second-quarter call that the partners had secured $3.3 billion for 350 Park Avenue, a planned 2 million-square-foot tower.
That brief described Citadel anchoring about half the building, Vornado at 36% and Rudin at 4%, with another 25% possibly open to an outside investor. Wednesday’s announcement makes it formal and adds Citadel’s lease and Griffin’s 60% stake.
The Mamdani Standoff
The project’s future looked shaky earlier this year. Citadel COO Gerald Beeson floated stopping work on the tower after Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a tax proposal aimed at absentee homeowners.
That fight sits inside the mayor’s broader push on wealthy owners. Our Oct. 14 report on the pied-à-terre tax laid out a surcharge on homes worth $5 million or more owned by people who live mainly outside the city.
Why It Matters
Lenders are still willing to fund new Manhattan office towers at scale, but they want an anchor. Citadel’s million-square-foot-plus lease gives this one a base of demand.
The pull of premium space is real. JLL’s Q3 data in our Oct. 5 brief showed trophy vacancy at a cycle-low 4.9%, with 23 leases above $250 per square foot so far this year.
What’s Next
Watch how quickly the remaining 850,000 square feet leases, and whether the loan closing ends the tension with City Hall.
