460 Park Ave. getting $200 million upgrade

The obsolete office building at 460 Park Ave., now an empty vessel at the northwest corner of East 57th Street, will set soon sail with an all-new look and dramatically upgraded interiors.The tower’s owner, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), is launching a $200 million redevelopment to bring the entire 22-story, Midcentury property into the modern age.The project to be completed in 2028 will bring to market a unique, 350,000 square-foot block of new office space on the prime stretch of Park Avenue, where direct vacancy is a minuscule 2.2%, the lowest in Midtown.The mystery is now solved for passers-by who wondered why a promised new look for a large Citibank branch never happened — KITA bought out the lease to make way for the redevelopment.The blocks between East 40th and East 59th streets are on a world-leading roll.Many neighboring buildings such as 425 Park Ave.

are fully leased with some tenants paying up to $300 per square foot.Further affirming the avenue’s No.1 status, Gary Barnett’s Extell recently paid a half-billion dollars for the precious development site at 405-417 Park Ave., now a vacant lot, between East 54th and 55th streets.Demolition meanwhile is underway for a planned office skyscraper at 450 Park to be developed by Vornado, Rudin and Ken Griffin.Aided by a 20-year tax incentive under the city’s Manhattan Commercial Revitalization Program (M-CORE), KITA tapped SOM to design a new curtain wall for 460 Park, among other upgrades.The structure will be cut down to its original steel bones and its current facade redesigned with floor-to-ceiling windows.

The improvements are also to include a new, double-height lobby, new elevators, increased ceiling heights and advanced air-handling systems.Office tenant amenities are to include a hospitality-driven, multi-floor amenity suite and outdoor terraces.JLL is marketing the office space.The team includes Dave Kleiner, Frank Doyle, Peter Riguardi, Cynthia Wasserberger and Michael P...