717 FIFTH GOES ON THE BLOCK

Walton Street Capital is putting 717 Fifth Ave. on the block, two years after buying the trophy tower from Yale University.

Walton is hoping to fetch more than the $266 million it paid in Oct. 2002.

Jeff Quicksilver of Walton Street confirmed the Chicago-based firm has hired Wayne Maggin at Eastdil to market the 26-story building at the southeast corner of 56th St., where Hugo Boss holds down the main retail spot.

Quicksilver declined to discuss the marketing process or pricing expectations for the 450,570-square-foot tower – one of the top office buildings in the city.

Asking rents in the upper floors of the 26-story tower are about $70 a foot while base floors command $62 a foot, said Alexander Chudnoff of Cushman & Wakefield, who is one of the current leasing agents.

Although brokers report rental rates overall in the city are now rising slowly, the property experienced a drop in occupancy after its purchase at $611 a foot.

According to CoStar Group data, the vacancy jumped from 11.4 percent at the end of 2002 to 32.3 percent today.