RXR's 237 Park Gets a Conference Center

NEW YORK CITY—Convene, a developer of meeting and event spaces, reports it is partnering with the co-owners of 237 Park Ave.—RXR Realty and Walton Street Capital—to bring a new nearly 30,000-square-foot facility to the office building.

Renovation work valued at $50 million is nearing completion at the 21-story 237 Park Ave. building, which totals approximately 1.24 million square feet, located near Grand Central station.

The 11-year lease agreement between Convene and RXR Realty includes 29,800 square feet of space situated on the lobby level of the inner atrium. Its new “industrial chic” design was created in collaboration with Unispace Architects. The venue's conference and collaboration area will feature seven meeting rooms with capacity of up to 150 people. Convene at 237 Park is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2016.

“The Park Avenue, Grand Central area is home to the highest concentration of Fortune 500 firms in the world but has been facing matrixed competition from submarkets like Park Avenue South, Wall Street and Brooklyn as well as new and renovated developments like Hudson Yards, World Trade Center and Brookfield Place,” states Ryan Simonetti, Convene's co-founder and CEO. “The RXR – Convene collaboration at 237 Park understands and delivers what tenants and their millennial users look for in workplaces and is indicative of larger market trends toward centralization of services within buildings.”

Convene officials note that a unique feature at Convene 237 Park Ave. will be The Club, which the company describes as a “private space within an already private space” that will feature a library with a gas fireplace and pivot doors, a private cocktail lounge and gallery space.

“Our partnership with Convene makes 237 Park Ave. the most dynamic building in New York for the many companies who use their workplace to attract top talent. Their on-demand spaces and services eliminate the fixed costs of workplace hospitality to create a flexible and highly desirable environment viable for tenants of all sizes," states William Elder, executive vice president/managing director, RXR Realty.

RXR is nearing completion of its renovation program for the building. The work includes newly constructed entrances on 45th and 46th streets, enhanced visibility on Park Avenue, a new lobby and redesigned atrium, enhanced retail throughout the first two levels of the building; and a completely re-imagined plaza on Depew Place (between 237 and 230 Park Ave., which RXR also owns) with new restaurant opportunities and outdoor seating.

Convene was represented by CBRE's Rocco Laginestra, senior vice president; Michael Wellen, senior vice president and Jared Freede, first vice president. RXR Realty was represented in house by Lauren Ferrentino.