The development of a major skyscraper at 350 Park Avenue that will house Ken Griffin’s Citadel is moving forward despite the hedge fund billionaire’s high-profile feud with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Vornado Realty Trust CEO Steven Roth confirmed on the company’s earnings call that demolition is underway at the site and the REIT will exercise its maximum ownership stake in the venture.

‘If you drive or walk past Park Avenue at 52nd Street, you will see that our 350 Park Avenue site is now under construction, actually under demolition,’ Roth said. ‘We intend to shortly exercise our investment option to participate in this deal at our maximum ownership alongside Ken Griffin as our 60% partner and with Citadel as our 1-million-square-foot anchor tenant.’

The project represents a $6 billion investment that Citadel COO Gerald Beeson said will create 6,000 construction jobs and support more than 15,000 permanent positions in Midtown Manhattan. The development proceeds despite tensions sparked when Mamdani filmed a video outside Griffin’s $238 million Central Park South penthouse to promote his pied-a-terre tax on luxury properties.

For Los Angeles, the Citadel skyscraper highlights a broader competition between major financial centers for hedge fund and investment firm talent. LA-based investment firms and real estate developers have been watching the New York situation closely, as cities compete for high-paying financial sector jobs that drive local economies.

Griffin called Mamdani’s personal attack ‘creepy and weird,’ expressing concern that it put him in harm’s way and demonstrated ‘a profound lack of judgment.’ The feud prompted speculation about whether Citadel might shift operations to other markets, though the Park Avenue project’s advancement suggests New York remains central to the firm’s strategy.

Vornado’s stake in the partnership will top out at 36%, with Citadel holding 60%. The project is one of the largest commercial real estate developments underway in Manhattan.

Mamdani eventually softened his rhetoric, thanking Griffin for funding a memorial wall for police officers killed in the September 11 attacks and those who died of related illnesses. The memorial is set to open later this year at NYC Police Headquarters.

Source: Fox Business