Building to be architecturally distinguished, their proximity to Central Park allowed their respective owners to charge high rents. During the mid-1990s, when tenants at other office buildings in New York City were subleasing their space at a discount, space at 9 West 57th Street was being subleased at a premium. By contrast, aside from banking tenants, the commercial space at the ground level and basements sat largely empty through the end of the 20th century. The below-ground space had been meant for antique and art dealers and a restaurant. One factor in the commercial space's lack of tenants was the fact that the ground-level storefronts were placed too far behind the street. Solow was also reluctant to actually rent the space, as he claimed he needed the right tenant. The first "right" tenant was Deutsche Bank, which opened a ground-floor banking space in 1979, about five years after the building was finished. The building's of underground retail space had not seen a single tenant a decade later. The late 1990s saw several high-profile departures, including those of Sony and J.P. Morgan & Co. Avon reportedly tried to buy 9 West 57th Street, but after Solow was unwilling to sell, Avon moved out at the end of its lease in 1997. Prior to formally moving out, Avon subleased some of its space. Most of Avon's old space was occupied by Nationsbanc Montgomery Securities, which had been acquired by NationsBank and then merged with BankAmerica Corporation, parent company of Bank of America. Nationsbanc Montgomery had in 9 West 57th Street by December 1998, more than any other tenant in the building. Despite the departures, new tenants at the Solow Building continued to sign leases at premium rates. Concurrently, Solow had hired Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer to redesign the unused retail space in the basement. Two of the escalators were removed to make way for the entrance to the Brasserie 8 1/2 restaurant. The restaurant opened in 2000. 21st century Solow sought a $400 million loan for the building in February 2002, and Dresdner Bank gave him the loan that July. The Solow Building was still considered a desirable location through the 21st century, in part because of its Central Park views. When Solow refinanced the building in 2002, the building was 80 percent occupied and was estimated to earn $90 million a year in net operating income. In an unofficial listing of New