The owners of 1740 Broadway, the classic office tower designed by the architects of the Empire State Building, have come up with a new way to make their property appetizing to space-hungry tenants.
Michelin-starred New York chef John Fraser has been tapped by landlord EQ Office to bring a feeding frenzy to the 600,000-square-footer at Broadway and West 55th Street.
Fraser’s JF Restaurants, which runs acclaimed eateries such as Nix, The Loyal, and both The Terrace and 701 West at Ian Schrager’s Times Square Edition, will launch a new, ground-floor eatery at the 5,000-square-foot corner spot previously home to Brasserie Cognac.
But there’s much more to the collaboration with EQ. Fraser will also develop a “café concept” in the building’s private tenant club, located on the lobby mezzanine, and a premium amenity and catering program just for tenants.
Chef collaborations are increasingly common in hotels and at some luxury condo buildings. But a chef’s role at an office location normally means a restaurant and participation in private event spaces, such as Daniel Boulud’s role at One Vanderbilt.
EQ aims to go beyond that at 1740 Broadway, where it means to establish a more seamless and intimate connection between the chef and office workers. Fraser will also provide catering services to tenants throughout the building — which could include everything from cocktail receptions to sit-down dinners inside actual workplaces.
“I think this is a first for this kind of program in an office building,” said Simon Wasserberger, EQ’s senior VP for portfolio management.
EQ, which is owned by Blackstone Group, bought the tower from Vornado in December 2014 for $605 million, or $1,000 per square foot.
It faces the loss of two major tenants at 1740 Broadway — fashion retailer L Brands, owner of Victoria’s Secret, in 2022, and law firm Davis & Gilbert, which as The Post’s Lois Weiss reported is moving in 2020 to 1675 Broadway. The departures will leave about 500,000 square feet vacant.
Owners typically prepare office properties facing lease expirations for the future with a new lobby, systems and other upgrades. EQ has already started on work on such capital improvements at 1740 Broadway, but bringing in a chef “as part of a broader repositioning,” as Wasserberger called it, is a new enticement.
Fraser said the tower’s new ground floor will be “one big hospitality suite” including the new, as yet unnamed public restaurant, with the tenants’ amenity center on the mezzanine.
“Essentially, employees won’t have to leave the building” for any food needs, he said — whether for a sit-down meal, a casual snack or for in-office catering for meetings and such.
Wasserberger said EQ is just beginning to market the floors to be vacated but it was “premature” to discuss rents.