THE DURST ORGANIZATION LAUNCHES AMENITY BRAND WELL& AT 4 TIMES SQUARE

Reimagined Frank Gehry Cafeteria Serves as Centerpiece of 45,600 Square Foot Amenity Floor

The Durst Organization today announced the launching of its new Amenity brand, Well& at the reimagined Frank Gehry Cafeteria that serves as the centerpiece of the 45,600 square foot amenity space at 4 Times Square. Well& will serve as the amenity brand for all Durst commercial and residential properties. Well& will provide sustainable spaces that promote wellness and community where our tenants, resident and their guest will live, play, eat, work and thrive.

“The launch of Well& is an exciting new chapter in the history our organization,” said Jonathan (Jody) Durst, President of The Durst Organization. “As the lines between our residential and commercial lines of business blur, we felt it vital to introduce a suite of amenities and programming that could straddle the work/life divide and make our properties more attractive to our tenants and residents. Well& will provide best-in-class food, gyms, meeting and events spaces and the programming that transforms space into place and people into a community.”

The brand builds on The Durst Organization’s commitment to sustainability and heathy and productive homes and workspaces by introducing a curated suite of programmed spaces for eating, exercising, socializing, working, relaxing and playing. Well& will be places for all residents and tenants to recharge and live better.

At 4 Times Square, WellPlated is the Claus Meyer managed food eatery with a multitude of artisanal farm-to-table offerings. The Green will house a coffee/drinks bar and be the social heart of the space, Well Said, powered by Convene, will host meetings and events. Other Well& concepts in development at other Durst properties include WellHosted events and catering and WellCurated programs for residents to enjoy. Well& will also leverage its relationship with McEnroe Organic Farm in Dutchess County as both as receiver of compostable waste and a source of fresh and local fruits, vegetables, poultry, beef and pork.

The 45,600 square foot floor was redesigned by Studios Architecture. The northern portion will feature a coffee bar, lounge and reimagined Frank Gehry Cafeteria and south will be the meeting and event space.

The Claus Meyer servery will feature artisanal food hall stations serving fresh, locally source food and beverages. The food offerings will include a grill, fresh bakery, raw and sushi bar and poke bowls, fresh grains and risotto, pasta soups and sandwiches. The kitchen will also serve as an in-house caterer for all of 4 Times Square.

The Frank Gehry designed cafeteria, originally created for former tenant Condé Nast, was reimagined as a striking architectural centerpiece of the floor. The cafeteria now features distinctive American White Oak floors and accents. From the Gehry cafeteria, a wood-lined Portal opens to the Garden Room with a floor to ceiling green wall featuring 2,200 plants – 12 species and 22 varieties -- designed by Blondie’s Treehouse Inc.

The Durst Organization has also partnered with the fast-growing workplace hospitality platform Convene to operate the full-service meeting, event, and conference facility at 4 Times Square, a premiere environment for hosting corporate events, including town halls, team off-sites, conferences, trainings, and board meetings. Convene’s expertise in hospitality enhances the experience for both building tenants and outside companies that will use the space for their most important meetings and events. The Convene space includes more than 20,000 square feet of both private and open event spaces, with a full buyout capacity of up to 480 people. The customizable and flexible space boasts three meetings rooms and one large conference space, ranging in size from 900 to 2,400 square feet and capacities for 75 to 200 guests, each room with state-of-art technology, including a 56-foot long LED screen. Convene also offers access to collaborative work lounges, breakout spaces, and on-demand refreshment stations, as well as in-house technology, meeting planning, and production support.

“We are thrilled to expand on our existing partnership with Durst to create a best-in-class workplace at 4 Times Square,” said Mark DePiero, Vice President of Integrated Services at Convene. “Our collaboration will give every tenant at 4 Times Square access to the latest workplace amenities and the best hospitality services – an experience that extends far beyond the conventional office environment.”

Convene at 4 Times Square is the third location the company has opened in a Durst-owned property. Convene manages the amenity program and operates a full-service conference facility at One World Trade Center, as well as at Durst’s 117 West 46th Street in Midtown. The Durst organization is also an investor in Convene.

To promote wellness and community, Durst will offer curated event programming such yoga, meditation and networking events in Convene’s event space for tenants in the building.

The Durst Organization recently completed a $100 million-plus capital improvement plan at 4 Times Square which included new entrances, lobby, new turnstiles and concierge desk, a new destination dispatch elevator system and 30 modernized elevator cabs.

Convene (www.convene.com) changes the way the world works by transforming the way businesses work. By partnering with the largest landlords in commercial real estate, the company designs and services the next generation office building – one that feels more like a full-service, lifestyle hotel. Convene’s integrated “workplace-as-a-service” platform gives building tenants and enterprise clients access to a growing network of premium meeting and event spaces, flexible workspaces, hospitality services, and curated experiences for users, all connected by the company’s proprietary technology platform. Founded in 2009, Convene has locations in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., with plans to expand globally. The company has been named one of America’s 100 Most Promising Companies by Forbes, one of America’s fastest growing companies by Inc. Magazine, and the #11 Best Workplace in New York by Fortune Magazine.

Meyers USA is a hospitality group founded by Danish culinary entrepreneur Claus Meyer. In 2016, Meyer and his team launched a family of food projects in New York: Agern, a Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurant with Nordic roots located in Grand Central Terminal, and Great Northern Food Hall, also located in the terminal, consisting of five food pavilions, a hot dog stand, a bar and eatery, offering Nordic-inspired fare for take-away and table service. In addition to Agern and Great Northern Food Hall, Meyer is the co-owner of Norman, an all-day café in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, located within A/D/O, a workplace for creative professionals, which he operates in partnership with Chef Fredrik Berselius (Aska, of which he is also a partner). Using food as a vehicle for social progress, he founded the Melting Pot Foundation in 2010, which operates the Brownsville Community Culinary Center, an eatery and culinary training program for and by the community of Brownsville, Brooklyn. The Melting Pot Foundation also operates as a nonprofit in Denmark and La Paz, Bolivia, where the foundation’s restaurant Gustu has been named one of the best restaurants in Latin America.

The Durst Organization, founded in 1915 by Joseph Durst, is the owner, manager and builder of 13 million square feet of premiere Manhattan office towers and 2,500 residential rental units with 3,500 in development. The Durst Organization is recognized as a world leader in the development of high-performance and environmentally advanced commercial and residential buildings. www.durst.org

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Contact: Jordan Barowitz
212/257-6605