A global holding company with $22 billion in managed assets has claimed what might be Midtown’s most coveted, crown-jewel office location.
Aquarian Holdings LP signed a lease with landlord Olayan Group’s 550 Madison Ave. for the landmarked “Chippendale” tower’s 75,000 square-foot, three-level penthouse, Realty Check has learned.
It brings the 750,000 square-foot trophy to about 96% leased.
Olayan bought the pink granite tower for $1.4 billion in 2016 when it was vacant and upgraded it for at least $300 million more. The company redesigned the lower-floors facade and enlarged retail windows under the watchful eye of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The office floors and lobby were comprehensively re-imagined and systems re-tooled for 21st century tenants.
The repositioning also includes a new, block-long, glass-canopied pedestrian arcade and garden between East 55th and East 56th streets.
The Philip Johnson- and John Burgee-designed building is home to marquee-name tenants including Chubb Ltd., which was the first to sign on for 240,000 square feet; private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice, with 144,000 square feet; and Hermes for its 72,000 square-foot US headquarters.
A source said only the 22d floor and a small prebuilt section of the 34th floor remain available.
On the retail side, Simon Kim’s Gracious Hospitality Group leased 550 Madison’s northern ground-floor corner, leaving only the south-end retail corner yet to be claimed.
The tower’s leasing performance has been epic. Since we wrote in November 2021 that 550 Madison was regarded as a “bellwether” for the office market, which was struggling back from the pandemic, some 303,500 square feet of the offices went for more than $100 per square foot — perhaps the city’s highest percentage of C-note deals at a single property.
Aquarian, currently based at 40 10th Avenue in Chelsea, was founded by Rudy Sahay, who previously co-founded real estate firm 54 Madison Partners and was a founding member of Guggenheim Partners.
Aquarian recently formed a joint venture with Raven Capital Management, a music industry investment fund.
It also announced the creation of Aquarian Insurance Holdings, a shared structure for the company’s reinsurance and retail insurance businesses.