NEW YORK | 165 E. 56th St. | FT | FLOORS

[ChiND]

Gary strikes again!



https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/05/26/gary-barnett-buys-ajc-building-at-165-east-56th-street/

[ChiND]

You have to really appreciate Gary! He has New York tenacity and grit!

I hope that he acquires the adjacent junk.



https://commercialobserver.com/2026/05/gary-barnett-extell-buys-165-east-56th-street/

[Crawford]

That's great news. This building is total garbage.

Hopefully he assembles the whole block, and we get a major new office tower.

[ChiND]

Originally Posted by Crawford

That's great news. This building is total garbage.

Hopefully he assembles the whole block, and we get a major new office tower.

The tall building on the north corner won’t go, but I hope that he acquires the adjacent, low-rise junk.

I suspect that this will be a residential tower or maybe even a medical one.

[The New York Lion]

Amazing.

740 8th Avenue
655 Madison Avenue
Wellington site
ABC site
570 5th Avenue
405 Park Avenue

Now this.

On top of everything he's already done.

[ChiND]

I agree, Lion. Gary is amazing.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ChiND

https://commercialobserver.com/2026/05/gary-barnett-extell-buys-165-east-56th-street/

Barnett is the king of assemblages. This particular site won’t hold much, but he’s likely got an eye on putting pieces together.

Barnett’s exact plans for the property were not disclosed, but the CBRE team marketed the property as an opportunity for an office-to-residential conversion eligible for tax abatements. A new residential building on the site could span about 89,000 square feet, while a mixed-use building could cover roughly 112,000 square feet, Crain’s reported. The project also comes with the opportunity for a transit improvement bonus if the developer improves a nearby subway station, according to the outlet.

[NYguy]

https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estat...looks-sell-midtown-east-office-building/

A residential building could span about 89,000 square feet and stand 370 feet tall, while a mixed-use building could span about 112,000 square feet, according to the marketing materials. The property also qualifies for a transit improvement bonus that could increase its size to 379 feet tall and about 114,000 square feet for a mixed-use project if a developer makes improvements to a nearby subway station.

[ChiND]

Originally Posted by NYguy

Barnett is the king of assemblages. This particular site won’t hold much, but he’s likely got an eye on putting pieces together.

I agree.

[Busy Bee]

Common sense suggests he'll try to gobble up everything to the Lexington House on 56 and to the former HSBC tower on the corner of 57.

[NYguy]

Proximity to Extell's Park Avenue site...

[ChiND]

I think that JAB owns the PoS just east of the building that Gary just bought. They seem to own a lot of real estate in NY.

[NYguy]

I don’t know how this would be linked to the Park Avenue site, though it could potentially be another “swap”.


https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/ajc-selling-its-longtime-manhattan-headquarters-for-39-million/

AJC sells its longtime Manhattan headquarters for $39 million
The organization tells eJP that it is relocating, but staying in New York City, as it sells its headquarters for the past 67 years


By Judah Ari Gross
May 28, 2026

The sale of the AJC building, which was first reported by the industry publication The Real Deal on Tuesday, appears to be linked to a larger development project two blocks away on Park Ave, though it is not immediately clear how.

[ChiND]

I recall looking at ACRIS for 400-410 Park, and I recall that JAB owns one of those buildings. I’m pretty sure that JAB owns the building just west of this one too.

Maybe this somehow relates to the rumored redevelopment of 400-410 Park.

Gary is a force!