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its fun to make design assumptions based on massings.

not that it usually works out, but its fun.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnyc (Post 10526856)

its fun to make design assumptions based on massings.

not that it usually works out, but its fun.

The massing diagrams usually reveal a building's basic shape. This is clearly a box.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiND (Post 10526892)

The massing diagrams usually reveal a building's basic shape. This is clearly a box.

With any luck, this could be a 1,200- version of The Kent, which could be a stunning tower found nowhere else on Earth.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The New York Lion (Post 10526894)

With any luck, this could be a 1,200- version of The Kent, which could be a stunning tower found nowhere else on Earth.

That's what I was hoping because BBB buildings usually have nice facades, but NYGuy correctly pointed out that the first ten floors or so are office space, which usually entails a glass facade. If it were like a 1,150 foot Kent, it would be quite nice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiND (Post 10526896)

That's a good point.

Let's just hope for the best.

If it's just a glass box, oh well. At least it will have height.

There will be plenty more opportunities as time marches on in The World Capital.

Nothing wrong with the building as is. If you have a problem with glass, boxy buildings, then your problem is with New York City, because look around. If this tower had an extra 900 ft, some of you would be talking about how only the greatest city in the world could pull it off.

https://a4.pbase.com/o12/06/102706/1...SizeRender.jpg

If this tower were in a shleppy location like 43rd and 3rd, I’d cheer it. In this iconic location, however, a glass box is unfortunate. If this were 2,000 feet tall, I’d be extremely disappointed.

Presumably, 655 Madison will look very similar to TWT but 300 feet taller. (TWT is around 860 feet tall.)

Would it have been too much to ask for a crown?

https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.skys...58_500x650.jpg
Skyscrapercenter.com

Here was the massing diagram for 270 Park, for reference. Don't think you can declare this a box just yet...http://thumbs.6sqft.com/wp-content/u...77&format=webp

I don't recall what happened there, but I know that massing diagrams generally reflect that basic shape of the building.

I'd be elated if Extell builds something amazing. 50 W 66th is spectacular, and they had great success with it. I hope that the actual tower varies substantially from the MD.

https://therealdeal.com/national/202...tt-2026-plans/

Inside Gary Barnett’s end-of-year dealmaking boom

By Mike Romano
Dec 28, 2025

Quote:

For most of his career, Gary Barnett has preferred to let his buildings do the talking.

Extell has never been flashy about its dealmaking. Projects tend to simmer quietly, assemblages can stretch on for years and filings often appear only after the hard parts are settled. But over the past several months, Barnett has been unusually visible, moving multiple big bets forward at once.

Quote:

The clearest example came at 655 Madison Avenue. Extell closed on a $1.13 billion construction financing package for the proposed 74-story residential tower, the largest construction loan in New York City this year. JP Morgan provided the senior mortgage, Tyko Capital delivered the mezz and the deal was done without brokers. It followed a July rezoning push that doubled the project’s height and turned what began as a more modest plan into a 1,162-foot tower with luxury residences, office and retail. A Chanel-controlled retail condo is also in play, reportedly priced in the mid-$400 millions.

The financing capped months of groundwork that included land buys along East 60th Street, air-rights transfers and subway improvement negotiations. Barnett used a similar playbook a few blocks west at the former Wellington Hotel site, where Extell is now pursuing a 71-story mixed-use tower after initially filing for a far smaller hotel.

Quote:

At the same time, Extell’s long-running Upper West Side saga is turning a corner. Closings at 50 West 66th Street have accelerated, including a recent $46.75 million sale for a nearly 7,000-square-foot combination unit. The building is now more than 70 percent sold, a meaningful milestone for a project that spent years tied up in opposition and litigation.

Just across the street, Barnett is laying the groundwork for what could be his most controversial project yet, a 1,200-foot supertall at the former Disney campus. Over the past year, Extell has filed plans in stages, including smaller residential buildings with affordable housing and demolition permits, while Barnett has shown up to community board meetings to pitch trading height for peace. That effort is now backed by capital. In September, Extell disclosed a $1.2 billion preferred equity infusion from a hedge fund covering nine projects, including the Disney campus, the Wellington site and 655 Madison.

Quote:

Elsewhere in Midtown, Extell’s Fifth Avenue assemblage is finally snapping into place. After paying what Barnett called a “stupid price” to secure the final parcel at 576 Fifth Avenue, the developer is nearing a roughly 700,000-square-foot lease with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett at 570 Fifth, one of the largest office deals of the year. Anchored by Ikea’s first Manhattan flagship, the project marks a shift from Extell’s earlier supertall vision to a more tenant-driven office play.

For Barnett and Extell, 2025 brought a steady drumbeat of financings, filings, closings and strategic positioning across asset classes. He’s still playing the long game, just with more pieces moving on the board at the same time than we’re used to seeing.

https://www.pincusco.com/extell-sign...-of-1-1b-debt/

Extell signs $322.4M construction loan with TYKO Capital for supertall in Lenox Hill, part of $1.1B debt

December 31, 2025

Nothing new, just refiling of the plans, as happens with all projects. But Gary Barnett has handwriting slightly better than my own.

https://a4.pbase.com/o12/06/102706/1...F.IMG_4667.JPG

https://nypost.com/2026/01/22/lifest...-destinations/

By Lois Weiss
Published Jan. 22, 2026

Quote:

Gary Barnett’s 74-story tower at 655 Madison Ave. is expected to host a flagship for Chanel. Prada may have to relocate when Related helps it develop another luxury condominium tower on its site at 720-724 Fifth Ave., while LVMH is developing a new 25-story tower to host its 1 E. 57th St. corner store and offices.

Further south, Barnett will construct a now larger, 1.6 million-square-foot office tower at 570 Fifth with an Ikea at its base.

https://www.pincusco.com/extell-deve...in-lenox-hill/

Extell pays $39.9M to Metropolitan Club for 135K sf in air rights in Lenox Hill

https://www.pincusco.com/wp-content/...6000032529.jpg

February 3, 2026

I wonder if those air rights are already incorporated into the 1,162 foot figure.

^ Yes. They have been talking about this since the reveal.

https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news...roadway-133041

February 03, 2026
Ciara Long

Quote:

Extell Development bought the Metropolitan Club’s air rights at 1 E. 60th St. for $39.9M, PincusCo reported. The deal transfers the air rights to Extell’s 655 Madison Ave. development, where Gary Barnett’s firm is tearing down a 200K SF office building to make way for a supertall mixed-use tower anchored by a Chanel flagship store. Extell landed $1.1B in construction financing in December for the project, Commercial Observer reported.

https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-e...ropolitan-club

Extell inks $40M air rights deal for massive 655 Madison project

EDDIE SMALL
Feb 4, 2026

Quote:

Extell Development has inked an air rights deal for the massive tower it hopes to build at 655 Madison Ave.

The prolific real estate firm, led by founder and chairman Gary Barnett, has paid roughly $39.9 million to the Metropolitan Club at nearby 790 Fifth Ave. for about 135,000 square feet of development rights, property records show. The deal closed on Jan. 29, according to the city register.

Extell purchased 655 Madison Ave., located at the corner of East 60th Street, for about $160 million in October 2024, part of an extremely active stretch of dealmaking for the company. It initially planned to construct a 37-story mixed-use tower on the site but is seeking to dramatically expand those plans. The developer now wants to rezone the site to build a 74-story tower that would span roughly 765,000 square feet with 154 residential units, according to its application with the Department of City Planning.

Quote:

The filing noted that it planned to increase the size of the project by using development rights from the Metropolitan Club, and by improving the nearby Fifth Avenue/59th Street N/R/W subway station to add about 130,000 square feet.

The project would include about 233,000 square feet of commercial space in addition to the residential space, and Extell would aim to finish it by 2031.

Quote:

Extell also recently went under contract to purchase 123,000 square feet of air rights from St. Thomas church at 678 Fifth Ave. in Midtown for $36 million, although the purpose of that deal is unclear. And the company is planning a similarly massive development at 871 Seventh Ave., the former Wellington Hotel site, that would stand 71 stories tall.

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