SkyscraperPage Forum - NEW YORK | 655 Madison Ave | 1,162 FT

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- - NEW YORK | 655 Madison Ave | 1,162 FT | 74 FLOORS (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=258817)

520 is stunning.

Extell should go with Stern, as his work guarantees massive success. A glass box would be lame.

https://a4.pbase.com/o12/06/102706/1...9npnrx.p1b.jpg

I like architectural variety. That’s what makes the skyline so great. Stern is wonderful, but I don’t know that we need to copy/paste one right next to another one . That would be lame. Or not. I would have to see it first. But again, variety. A glass building wouldn’t eclipse 520 in the way another Stern would.

https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-e...adison-project

Extell aims to boost 655 Madison project to 74 stories

EDDIE SMALL
July 10, 2025

Quote:

Extell Development's plans for 655 Madison Ave. appear to be getting much bigger.

The Gary Barnett-led developer had filed plans for a 37-story tower to replace the office building currently there late last year but now hopes to have the tower stand 74 stories tall, according to a recent rezoning application the company filed with the Department of City Planning. The new project would span about 765,000 square feet and stand 1,162 feet tall with 154 residential units.

If the rezoning does not happen, Extell would make its building 84 stories tall with less residential and office space.

Not entirely accurate, but that’s the gist of it.

Extell is juggernaut right now. Crazy they could have 3 supertalls (maybe 4?) rising at the same time with 655, ABC, and Wellington site. (assuming Torch completes before these 3 are going?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doubleu1117 (Post 10454294)

Extell is juggernaut right now. Crazy they could have 3 supertalls (maybe 4?) raising at the same time with 655, ABC, and Wellington site. (assuming Torch completes before these 3 are going?)

They would all be in some phase of construction at some point (demo/foundation/structure). And Extell would no doubt be busy working on the next project, if they aren't already.

most times they are chopping down height what a crazy thing to double it.

yeah more of that please. :tup:

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnyc (Post 10454720)

most times they are chopping down height what a crazy thing to double it.

yeah more of that please. :tup:

That's what a nearly doubled footprint will do for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnyc (Post 10454720)

most times they are chopping down height what a crazy thing to double it.

yeah more of that please. :tup:

Yes, last time I can think of was 111 W 57th Street. I recall that the original proposal was about 600-700 feet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCReid (Post 10454756)

Yes, last time I can think of was 111 W 57th Street. I recall that the original proposal was about 600-700 feet.

It happens a lot. Central Park Tower wasn't even a supertall, then it was 1,250 ft, then it was what it is today. 30 Hudson was going to be a supertall via a spire. One57, once known as Carnegie57 wasn't a supertall either. 520 Fifth wasn't going to be a supertall building. Everything evolves, given enough air rights (or depending on the developer). Still, it's not all about the height for these developers, but rather what they are building. Extell needs the bulk of the extra space to be distributed to the lower floors. The office component there may be spoken for, but whatever the case, it's what the developer is building. But if not for the expanded footprint, we'd be getting a much shorter tower.

I’d like to see Gary retain LaGrange. He has hired him before.

An 1,110+ version on this Chicago tower would be nice.

https://lucienlagrange.com/project/40-west-oak

https://lucienlagrange.com/wp-conten...ak-feature.jpg

BTW, because this is being built on a zoned lot that includes 520 Park and most of the block, it's highly unlikely the Zeckendorfs had no clue this tower was in the works. But that's not our problem.

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

Extell is getting the bulk of its additional air rights from a transit improvement bonus, and a transfer of landmark air rights. It's the transit improvement bonus combined with the bulk modifications that gives us the current proposal. Otherwise, with just the landmark air rights alone you would get the 1,200 ft version.

Anyway, if Related does indeed built the 1,200 ft version of 625 Madison, the towers would step back in height away from 432 Park Avenue, a nice but not necessary touch to the skyline. I'll take it. Whatever happens with 800 Fifth remains to be seen.

https://a4.pbase.com/o12/06/102706/1...40gNA.g19b.jpg

https://a4.pbase.com/o12/06/102706/1...3MkV5.g20b.jpg

https://a4.pbase.com/o12/06/102706/1...BiMuh.g24b.jpg

https://a4.pbase.com/o12/06/102706/1...bzNCY.g28b.jpg

It will be interesting to see what happens with Bravo’s lawsuit.

https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-e...ects-manhattan

From Ikea to residential towers: A look at Extell's expanding city portfolio

EDDIE SMALL
August 14,2025

Quote:

Extell Development has long been one of the most recognizable names in New York real estate, but the company has been on a tear lately even by its own lofty standards.

The firm, led by Gary Barnett, has major projects in store at 570 Fifth Ave. in Midtown, 32 W. 48th St. near Rockefeller Center and the former Disney/ABC campus on the Upper West Side. And it appears to be behind the February purchase of the Midtown townhouse at 34 E. 61st St. as well, likely as part of its plans for a massive skyscraper at nearby 655 Madison Ave.

Quote:

Knakal suggested Extell's current burst of activity is due to a combination of finding attractive properties on its own, fielding appealing offers from brokers and having other developers come to Extell directly before they put their portfolios on the market. Although many aspects of the city's real estate market are still in flux as it continues an uneven recovery from the pandemic, that may work to the advantage of well-capitalized firms like Extell.

"You ask any developer when they made the best buys of their careers and the best deals of their careers, they always say [it's] when they bought something that nobody else wanted," Knakal said. "Development isn't instantaneous. You buy today, you're not going to be trying to rent or trying to sell units in that building for three, four, five years."

Eastdil Secured's Will Silverman, who has worked with Extell on multiple deals, described Barnett as "idiosyncratic." The company's current wave of projects is likely due more to the right sites becoming available at the right time than to Barnett trying to take advantage of any broader trends in the industry, he said.

Quote:

655 Madison Ave.

This big project from Extell seems to keep getting bigger.

The firm purchased the Midtown office tower for roughly $160 million in October and filed plans late in 2024 to tear it down and build a 37-story mixed-used development at the site. However, Extell then applied for a rezoning in July that would make the building even larger. It would stand 74 stories tall and span roughly 765,000 square feet with 154 residential units, along with office and retail space, if the rezoning goes through. Extell would aim to finish the project by 2031 and make improvements to the N/R/W subway station at Fifth Avenue/59th Street in exchange for the extra space.

And the company may have been behind the recent purchase of the roughly 10,000-square-foot townhouse at 34 E. 61st St. as part of the project. Extell just filed demolition permits for the property, which is located around the corner from 655 Madison Ave. and was sold earlier this year for $27.5 million. Albert Sultan of the commercial brokerage Kassin Sabbagh Realty signed the deed on behalf of the buyer, a shell company named 34E61 LLC. He declined to confirm whether Extell was the firm behind the limited liability company.

New restaurant, new building. Looking forward to renderings from this one also.

It's been said that Chanel is the retail anchor tenant, having purchased it's location from Extell ($450 million). Extell has been known to jumpstart projects with retail anchoring/partnering in the development (Nordstram at CPT, Ikea at 570 5th , etc). A look at some of the retail along this stretch of Madison...

https://a4.pbase.com/o12/06/102706/1...sT.Retail2.jpg

https://www.cb8m.com/event/33710/

Landmarks Committee
PUBLIC HEARING
Monday, September 15, 2025 - 6:30 PM

Quote:

1 East 60th Street (Upper East Side Historic District) – Acheson Doyle Partners Architects, P.C. – A Neo-Italian Renaissance style building designed by Mckin, Mead, and White and constructed in 1892-1894. Application is for a Continued Maintenance Program to facilitate a transfer of development rights from the Metropolitan Club to 655 Madison Avenue.

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