NEW YORK | 509 Madison Avenue | 381 FT | 30 FLOORS

[NYguy]

An interesting little project. They are going to convert the existing 21 story building into a 30 story hotel by the modification and addition of floors.

[ChiND]

I'm glad that they're keeping the original tower. I've always liked it.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ChiND

I'm glad that they're keeping the original tower. I've always liked it.

The lower 14 floors are going to be re-clad. Most likely glass.

[ChiND]

Originally Posted by NYguy

The lower 14 floors are going to be re-clad. Most likely glass.

Oy vey.

[streetscaper]

uuggggghh

[NYguy]

https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estat...version-madison-avenue-midtown-manhattan

Midtown developer proposes hotel conversion for Madison Avenue office building





Julianne Cuba
August 22, 2025

A Midtown developer that years ago put its leasehold of a Madison Avenue officer tower on the market is now looking to convert the property into a "world-class hotel," records show.

Kensico Properties, led by Nabil Chartouni as chairman, this week filed a rezoning application with the Department of City Planning to convert and redevelop the 21-story Class A office building at 509 Madison Ave. into a 30-story hotel with retail on the ground floor.

The proposed conversion would create about 96 rooms, plus a lobby and amenity spaces, across roughly 139,000 square feet, and about 3,300 square feet of retail space, records show. The hotel's main entrance would be located on East 53rd Street, according to the application, while the retail portion would front Madison Avenue.

[NYguy]

https://commercialobserver.com/2025/08/kensico-properties-conversion-509-madison-avenue-hotel/

Kensico Properties Eyes Conversion of 509 Madison Avenue Into 96-Key Hotel


BY ISABELLE DURSO
AUGUST 25, 2025

New York-based development company Kensico Properties is eyeing a potential conversion in Midtown, but not to create housing.

Kensico’s Marilyn Cafone submitted a rezoning application last week to convert and reposition the existing 21-story, 139,230-square-foot office building at 509 Madison Avenue into a 30-story hotel with 3,348 square feet of ground-floor retail space, according to a filing with New York City’s Department of City Planning.

The building between East 52nd and East 53rd streets was built in the 1920s and would be “well-suited for alteration and conversion to hotel use,” Kensico wrote in the filing. Plans for the project would include “recladding” the lower 14 floors and a partial demolition of the building, beginning on the 15th floor.

If approved, the hotel would comprise 96 rooms, as well as a lobby and amenity spaces, according to the filing.

[ChiND]

If they're adding floors and changing the facade, I wonder why they don't raze it. I'd like a RAMSA here -- not glass.

[Busy Bee]

Is that a serious question?

[NYguy]

What strikes me about this is the number of rooms/suites, at just 96, even with the floor additions. This will be a boutique luxury hotel. Seems like a lot of trouble for so few units, but it's in a good location (around the corner from 350 Park as well).

[NYguy]

[The New York Lion]

This will be 439 feet to the roof.

[ChiND]

This looks pretty good. Granted, there’s garbage in the area that I’d rather see redeveloped, but this could be worse.

[NYguy]

https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/kensico-properties-planning-ultra-luxury-hotel-midtown

Ultra-luxury hotel planned for Madison Avenue in rare post-pandemic development


JULIANNE CUBA
Dec 17, 2025

The owners of Manhattan's upscale Lowell Hotel are moving ahead with plans to convert a 21-story Madison Avenue office building into an even ritzier property—one of the first new hotel developments in the city since the pandemic upended the industry in 2020.

Hoteliers Nabil and Fouad Chartouni, founders of Kensico Properties, want to redevelop a 21-story Class A office building at 509 Madison Ave. into a 30-story hotel with retail on the ground floor, to be called Lowell Modern.

Their application was submitted in August and certified Monday by the Department of City Planning, kicking off a seven-month process known as the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.

The proposed conversion would create about 96 rooms, plus a lobby and amenity spaces, across roughly 139,000 square feet. It would also include about 3,300 square feet of retail space. The hotel's main entrance would be located on East 53rd Street, according to the application, while the retail portion would front Madison Avenue.

"The Lowell Modern will be positioned to become the most pre-eminent ultra-luxury hotel in New York City," Kensico Properties said in a statement.

Interior demolition of the century-old office building has already begun, with remaining tenants expected to vacate after Christmas, said Trevor Atwell, a real estate adviser representing the developer.

Atwell said full demolition and construction will begin in early 2026 and that the Chartounis are targeting an early 2028 completion date. He declined to provide a cost estimate.