A major renovation was scheduled for 2014, after the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey vacated the premises. The renovation was done in 2017 and then refinanced. 97.9% of its space was leased.
Architecture
225 Park Avenue South, 19 stories tall, was built in 1909 as the American Woolen Building and designed by Robert Henderson Robertson, of R.H. Robinson & Sons. The consulting engineer was C. T. Main. 225 has a total of of space. Built on a steel frame and with a limestone exterior, 225 has a ram's head at its main entrance, on Park Avenue. A freight entrance is on 19th Street. 225 had five elevators for general use for floors 1-13. There were six elevators intended for company and client use only, with two serving the basement through floor 18, one going to floor 19, and three going only to floor 14. The freight elevators in the rear, also only for company/client use, numbered four, with three of them also intended for human passengers. The 14th floor was used as the American Woolen Company's reception area. 233 Park Avenue South, to the north of 225, was constructed around the same time and is 12 stories tall. 233 has a brass ring at its main entrance.
Tenants
its tenants included Buzzfeed, Facebook, STV Inc., and seven other tenants; the first three take up the largest space in the building. Facebook maintains New York City-area offices in the building. In 2016 it signed a lease for of space in the building, with of that space being on floors 17-19. Its remaining space is between Floor 6 and Floor 10. Buzzfeed also has space in the building; in 2014 it signed a lease for of space on floors 11 through 16. STV Inc. has its New York City headquarters in 225.
Historical
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey previously maintained its headquarters at the 225 Park Avenue South complex; it had relocated there after the previous headquarters, at 1 World Trade Center in the former World Trade Center complex, were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. PANYNJ, which signed a 15-year lease with the landlord and stated its intention to only use the facility as a temporary headquarters, occupied space in both 225 Park Avenue South and 233 Park Avenue South, with leased. The Office of Medical Services was at 233 Park Avenue South. In 2014 PANYNJ began moving its workers to 4 World Trade Center, and 2015 the PANYNJ headquarters finished moving to 4 World Trade Center. The medical offices remained at 233 Park Avenue South, but in 2016 the board PANYNJ was scheduled to vote on a new location for those offices. Terence Cullen of Commercial Observer stated that Facebook "likely" took former PANYNJ space. Crown Publishing Group had its headquarters at 225 Park Avenue South, occupying of space. Random House received the space when it acquired the company. In 1990 Random House signaled intentions to sublease the space. In the 1980s, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America signed a lease for. at 225/233 Park Avenue South, having outgrown previous space at their nearby headquarters, the Germania Life Insurance Company Building and its annex. In 1998, Guardian Life moved its headquarters to the Financial District of Manhattan. Historically the American Woolen Company occupied floors 13-19.
