Convene's New Park Avenue Conference Center "Arrives" at Grand Central

NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Convene (www.convene.com), the nation's fastest growing network of conference centers, has "arrived" in the Grand Central Terminal area with the official opening of its newest urban conference center at 101 Park Avenue on the ground floor of the iconic Kalikow building.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130722/NY50286LOGO)

As its fourth New York City location, Convene's 101 Park Avenue location is the company's first facility that has been totally built-out "from the ground-up" using its 24 principles, human-centered design process.  The new location can serve groups from two to 160 and includes seven specialized meeting rooms designed to meet the needs of varying meeting types. Convene signature elements include its Nourish cafe; built-in technology; and in-house catering.

Convene worked closely with Gensler, a leading global design firm, in designing a spectacular space embodying, for the first time, the core elements of Convene's new signature brand.   

"Our new Park Avenue conference center brings together the best elements of design and service to create a whole new experience for meeting participants," said Christopher Kelly, Convene co-founder and principal. "Together with Gensler, we have taken the human-centered design process and crafted an environment to further facilitate the ease of human interaction and productivity. Our 101 Park Avenue location integrates an advanced technology platform, a concierge environment and ultimate adaptability for meeting styles and formats."

Convene's 101 Park Avenue conference center represents the first move in the company's new direction toward establishing visible, ground floor retail locations where its signature branding can be recognized and easily accessed.  Already, the Convene Park Avenue location is attracting increasing public attention as it faces a heavily trafficked Park Avenue block between East 40^th and 41^st Streets adjacent to Grand Central Terminal.  Convene will continue to become an integral part of the community fabric over its ten year, 20,000 square foot lease with HJ Kalikow & Co., the owner of 101 Park Avenue -- a dramatic 49-floor, 629-foot skyscraper built in 1982.

"Working with Convene on the design of 101 Park has been an exciting and inspiring process for our team," said Amanda Carroll, senior associate and designer at Gensler. "With a shared passion for re-imagining the workplace setting, Gensler is looking forward to our continued partnership with Convene as we explore creating the best possible workplace of the future together." 

Convene Co-founder and Principal Ryan Simonetti, commenting on client reaction to the new 101 Park Avenue facility, said:  "The response from existing and new clients to Convene at 101 Park has been phenomenal and confirms that successful corporate meetings can best be achieved in a setting where design and services are dedicated to enhancing knowledge-sharing and collaboration. Even before our soft opening in December 2013, this new space was fully booked all the way through March of 2014."

101 Park Avenue serves as the flagship building for HJ Kalikow & Co.  The 1.3 million square foot office building serves many prestigious tenants including Kelley Drye & Warren; Federal Home Loan Bank of New York; Tiger Management; Tata Consultancy Services; Morgan Stanley; Nespresso USA; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius; and Booz & Company. 

"We are very pleased to have Convene as a tenant at 101 Park Avenue," said Peter Kalikow, president of HJ Kalikow & Co. and chairman of the board of directors of the Grand Central Partnership. "Convene serves the type of high-end corporate user that fits the profile of the property perfectly.  We welcome Convene as it joins the roster of other premier tenants at 101."

Founded in 2009 as Sentry Centers by two young entrepreneurs, Christopher Kelly and Ryan Simonetti, the company rebranded as Convene in February of 2013 and its four locations in Manhattan offer a combined 132,000 square feet of space making it the largest network of dedicated conference centers in New York City. As part of a national expansion drive, the company will be opening its first center outside New York City in Tysons Corner, Virginia in February, 2014.  The 1800 Tysons Boulevard location will serve the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region when it opens next month.

In four years of operation, Convene has already served close to two-thirds of all New York-based Fortune 500 companies; its meetings rooms can accommodate groups ranging from two to 300 people. Convene's team has quickly grown to over 100 members with revenues that exceeded $19 million in 2013.  In 2013, Convene was named by Crain's New York Business as the fastest growing company in New York City with a three year growth rate of 3,463 percent.  Convene's co-founders Mr. Kelly and Mr. Simonetti were separately recognized as finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of the Year® 2013 Award in New York.

For more information about Convene's conference center at 101 Park Avenue, visit http://convene.com/location/grand-central-nyc/.

About Convene
Convene (www.convene.com) is the leading developer, owner and operator of urban day conference centers in the United States.  Its full suite of business services includes meeting and collaboration space rental, "room service building catering," audiovisual and conference planning support.  Offered through various lease, joint venture and management arrangements, the company partners with landlords and tenants to enhance the quality of commercial office buildings and improve the workplace experience through better service and space design.

Contacts:
Emily Simmons / Rick Anderson / Henry Feintuch
Feintuch Communications
212-808-4904 / 718-986-1596 / 212-808-4901
[email protected]

SOURCE Convene