The biggest fountain in town can now be yours for $5 million a year

The other brand leasing the former bank space at 1251 Ave. of America for just $5 million a year will also make a splash using its giant nearly half-acre fountain for brand activation.

“It’s a shop and a stage,” said Winick’s Kenneth Hochhauser, the retail agent for the Mitsui Fudosan America tower. “You can directly engage the customer and program and activate the outdoor square and drive social media engagement into the millions.”

Known during the holiday season for its iconic, Instagram-heavy Christmas ornaments, during the rest of the year, the fountain and plaza located between West 49th and 50th streets provide a peaceful retreat for area workers.

Meanwhile, an average of 80,000 people a day stroll the sidewalk, while hundreds of thousands travel between Times Square and Rockefeller Center directly across the street — with many snapping photos and generating millions of impressions on social media.

“It’s between Main and Main,” said Slater Traaen, senior director at the MFA.

The 5,346-square-foot ground-floor former bank space has 30-foot-high ceilings and windows that stretch 116 feet across the front of the building with an additional 58 feet of frontage on both side streets.

Below grade, an additional 15,068 square feet with 16-foot-high ceilings connects to the extensive underground network of events and shopping of Sixth Avenue and Rockefeller Center, as well as to the west by the N and R trains to Times Square.

Two upscale restaurants with private dining and a main food hall with catering options will soon open as part of 1251’s larger transformation that includes a welcoming new lobby.

“We have a very special building,” said John Kessler, CEO of MFA, which has no debt on the 54-story, 2.4 million-square-foot property it has owned since 1986. “The additional retail repositioning , square and concourse level will be exciting for our tenants and visitors.”

The tower was built in 1972 as the Mobil Building and after the company’s rebranding it became known as the Exxon Building.

“[The usage] it depends on the imagination and the laws of physics.”

Kenneth Hochhauser of Winick

But Exxon is long gone, and now, after 55 years, the prominently located Chase branch is out, leaving behind a blank canvas that’s energizing MFA and its leasing teams to think outside the bank and bring in the fountain in the mix.

“It was such an important feature to market as part of the retail experience,” Traaen said.

At 85 feet by 200 feet, the fountain is the largest in the city and is often a backdrop for TV shows and movies like John Krasinski’s “IF.”

But it has the potential to generate exciting brand promotions by activating a basketball court, fashion runway or car show on a giant stage that can be expanded to cover the entire fountain – with the additional use of the plaza area.

“Imagine a Formula 1 experience with cars in the fountain and around the square,” said Hochhauser. “[The usage] it depends on the imagination and the laws of physics.”

Last year, ownership tapped sculptor Enrique Cabrera to bring his cubist Apple sculpture, “La Gran Manzana,” to the fountain. “He put a QR code on the base, and over a four-month period we had 1.4 million people scan the code,” Traaen said.

“This is an opportunity to stop people in their tracks,” Traaen continued. “Space is very important to this area and we want to partner with a retailer that sees the vision and can enjoy it.”