Harbor Group Completes $128M Renovation of Manhattan Landmark

Harbor Group International has completed a $128 million restoration and improvement program at 51 W. 52nd St., also known as Black Rock, a 38-story Class A office building in Midtown Manhattan. The company worked together with MdeAS Architects and Vocon to complete the enhancement program that started in late 2023, while CBRE is the appointed leasing broker for the 900,000-square-foot tower.

The current ownership picked up the skyscraper in 2021 for $760 million from CBS Media Group, according to CommercialEdge data. HGI became the second owner since the building was completed, in 1963. The property was originally built as CBS Media Group’s headquarters, being the first and only office skyscraper designed by the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen.

Saarinen’s Black Rock landmark

Formerly known as the CBS Building, the office tower was previously renovated in 2016 and includes 18 passenger elevators, floorplates that range between 20,600 and 24,252 square feet, first-floor retail and 120 vehicle parking spots, the same source shows. The tower’s initial design featured column-free floorplates and direct access to the 53rd Street corridor, allowing the renovation process to proceed smoothly while also preserving the landmark’s historic features.

The team also restored the bronze fin walls, paying homage to the original dark granite façade and keeping the integrity of Saarinen’s original design, as well as the property’s Florence Knoll furniture in the lounge areas. Upgrades at 51 W. 52nd St. include new elevators, a conference and events room, a cellar-level amenity suite with tenant lounge areas, a fitness center, a yoga studio, locker rooms with showers, a rooftop garden, as well as a coffee bar with breakfast and lunch options. The building’s two lobbies were also renovated.

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The high-rise occupies an approximately 2-acre site close to Grand Central terminal, 6 miles from the Financial District, 8 miles from Upper Manhattan, 10 miles from LaGuardia Airport and within 19 miles of John F. Kennedy International Airport.

With the repositioning of the office building, HGI saw consistent leasing activity, according to the company’s press release. Since 2021, the landlord signed 350,000 square feet of new leases and renewals. Last fall, the ownership also relocated its New York City headquarters to the property’s 19th floor.

Other tenants at 51 W. 52nd St. include the former owner, CBS Media Group, Anavex Life Sciences Corp., Dorsey & Whitney, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Orrick, according to CommercialEdge data. CBRE’s Vice Chairmen Howard Fiddle, Scott Gottlieb and Andrew Sussman, together with Executive Vice President Evan Haskell, make up the team overseeing leasing efforts at the property.

Significant Manhattan leases signed in 2024

There have been significant office deals that closed in Manhattan since the start of the year. One of them is Paramount Group’s 74,000-square-foot lease at 1301 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan. Citizens Bank is the new tenant at the 1.7 million-square-foot office building.

In March, Soloviev Group inked a long-term leasing deal for 23,033 square feet at 9 W. 57th St., a 50-story office building spanning approximately 1.7 million square feet of space. Tikehau Capital is the latest tenant, represented by Avison Young, while CBRE negotiated on behalf of the landlord.

The same CBRE team was involved Manhattan’s largest office lease of 2023: a law firm committed to 765,000 square feet at 1345 Avenue of the Americas, a nearly 2 million-square-foot tower. The brokerage assisted the landlord, a joint venture between Fisher Brothers and J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives.