By:  Hellen Zaboulani

The Lever House is reopening following a $100 million redevelopment, which had kept it shuttered for the past two years.

The landmarked 307-foot-tall, 21-story office building at 390 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, between 53rd Street and 54th Street, got a new look thanks to owners Brookfield Properties and Waterman Clark.  After the COVID-19 pandemic, the building was left vacant from all its tenants and so the new owners had decided to undertake the bold renovation.  The NY Post got a first peak at the newly opened building, remarking how bright light streams in from three sides and affords open views of nearby attractions including the Seagram Building, the Racquet and Tennis Club and the newly opened 425 Park Avenue.

Per the Post, the renovations made in collaboration with original architect SOM include: introduction of a diffused lighting system to enhance brightness and energy efficiency for the offices; the restoration of the outside plaza paving and lobby terrazzo floors; newly installed mechanical systems; and restoration of stainless steel columns and plaster ceilings.  Additionally, original convector units from the 1950s were replaced with a state-of-the-art dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS). The building also installed its first public art presentation, by opening an Ellsworth Kelly sculpture collection.  As a big added amenity, an expansive Lever Club was created, taking on the entire third floor. Designed by Marmol Radziner, the new club includes a stylish central bar, dining rooms and 15,000 square feet of landscaped outdoor terraces.

CBRE’s John Maher is the leasing agent for the new space.  “I hadn’t been inside for almost 40 years,” he said, because the building was always either fully or mostly leased.  Maher said that three leases with unidentified tenants have already been signed, even before official marketing at the building launches.  The leasing activity includes the larger, 35,000 square-foot second floor space, he told the Post. He declined to detail asking rental prices.  The Post reported that other sources said the “ask” starts at roughly $200 per square foot.

In stark contrast to most of Park Avenue’s million-square foot towers, the Lever House was famously built much smaller than zoning allowed for. The 260,000 square-foot Lever Building has just the first three podium levels at full size, with the rest of the tower slimming down to allow only 11,000 square feet of space per floor. Per the Post, the Lever building was designated with landmark protection in 1982 by then-Mayor Ed Koch, to protect it from demolition in favor of a larger tower.

The masterpiece was first completed in 1952, bringing the first curtain-wall design to commercial New York.  This 20th century exterior includes vertical steel mullions, separated by greenish glass window panes. The revolutionary curtain wall construction was intended to reduce the cost of operating and maintaining the property, by lowering air conditioning costs, because the design kept out about 30 percent of heat from sunlight.  The building was originally the headquarters of soap company Lever Brothers, a subsidiary of Unilever.

Maher commented saying, “What’s amazing is the prescient view of the original Lever company to design a building in the 1950s with the spirit of what everybody’s trying to do today — integrated amenities and air and light for everyone.”  He told the Post that the redevelopment hoped to achieve a “fully integrated, holistic design to change from a wonderful 1950s office building to one for the modern age.”