Celebrated Chef Will Also Operate Premier Food & Beverage Program for the Diagrid Club, L&L’s Unprecedented Amenity and Wellness Center Atop Foster-Designed Office Tower
L&L Holding Company today announced an agreement with world-renowned chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten to conceive and operate a 14,000-square-foot, bi-level restaurant at the base of the new 425 Park Avenue office tower in the heart of Manhattan’s fabled Plaza District.
Located at the northeast corner of Park Avenue and 56th Street, the new concept from Jean-Georges will be designed by Lord Norman Foster and feature 25-foot ceiling heights. The restaurant will include a main mezzanine dining level with a dramatic 1,000-square-foot show kitchen and a cocktail lounge with a 45-foot high ceiling and a 24 foot painting by celebrated artist Larry Poons. There will also be a private dining room with a dedicated kitchen at street level, and the food & beverage operations will be supported by an in-house bakery and expansive cocktail and wine programs.
L&L and Jean-Georges anticipate an opening date in late 2023.
Jean-Georges will also operate a world-class food and beverage program, including kitchen, dining area, coffee bar and private event service, within L&L’s one-of-a-kind full-floor amenity and wellness center. Situated within a dramatic, triple-height floor at the upper portion of 425 Park Avenue, the Diagrid Club features remarkable views of Central Park, Midtown and beyond, outdoor gathering spaces, an art installation from Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama, private rooms for transcendental meditation by the famed David Lynch Foundation, and other thoughtfully curated amenities designed to connect the mind and body.
One of this era’s most famous and accomplished chefs, Jean-Georges is responsible for the operation and success of 49 restaurants worldwide. His 13 New York City locations include the flagship Jean-Georges, a two Michelin-starred restaurant at One Central Park West, and the Tin Building by Jean-Georges, a recently-opened culinary destination at the site of the former Fulton Fish Market.
“I have known Jean-Georges as a friend and have marveled at his cuisine for over twenty years,” said L&L Holding Chairman and CEO David Levinson. “I had always hoped I could one day partner with him on a New York City restaurant and am delighted this opportunity came together. We have every confidence that he and his incredible team will help us achieve our ambitious vision for 425 Park as Manhattan’s next iconic dining destination.”
Added L&L Holding President and Chief Investment Officer Robert Lapidus, “425 Park Avenue presented us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – and responsibility – to create an environment that is every bit as captivating and enduring as the Plaza District that surrounds it. To accomplish this feat, we have assembled the world’s greatest architects, engineers, wellness experts and other established leaders in their chosen fields. Jean-Georges is the perfect person to lead our food & beverage program.”
“I’m thrilled to be part of David and Rob’s exciting project which has been in the works for over ten years. The building is situated across the street from my first job in NYC in 1986, so it almost feels full circle,” said Jean-Georges Vongerichten. “I’m excited to work with Lord Foster and the team at L&L again as we share a likeminded ethos: sustainability and preserving energy. Between the menu and design of the tower and restaurants, this is going to be the healthiest building in NYC, in all senses of the word.”
Located on the east side of Park Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets, the 897-foot-tall 425 Park is the first full-block tower to rise along the world’s most fabled commercial boulevard in half a century. Like its celebrated Plaza District predecessors, 425 Park is defined by its timeless architecture, from its monumental lobby to the tower’s signature illuminated ornamental fins at its crown that pierce New York City’s skyline. Each office floor has been designed to maximize the flow of natural daylight and fresh indoor air. L&L has also equipped the tower with the most modern and energy-efficient mechanical and ventilation systems available.
The recently-completed tower, which is 85 percent leased, has already established itself as a top destination for the technology-driven finance and investment firms that are leading New York City’s economic recovery.
Citadel, one of the world’s premier alternative investment firms, recently increased its commitment to approximately 415,400 square feet across 20 floors of 425 Park. Other prominent tenants include investment management firms Wafra Capital Partners and Maverick Capital, private equity firms Hellman & Friedman and GTCR, and healthcare real estate investment trust Medical Properties Trust.
About L&L Holding Company
L&L Holding Company is a privately held, vertically-integrated real estate company founded in 2000 by David Levinson and Robert Lapidus that has acquired or developed over 10 million square feet of prime commercial and residential space in New York and Florida. The company’s current portfolio includes such current and future icons as 425 Park Avenue, 390 Madison Avenue, Terminal Warehouse, TSX Broadway, 200 Fifth Avenue, The Wynwood Plaza, and Central Gardens Grand. For more information, visit www.ll-holding.com
