https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news...-avenue-128669
'Better Than Billionaires' Row'? Why NYC's Top Developers Are All-In On A Tiny Patch Of Madison Avenue
March 26, 2025
Sasha Jones
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On just five blocks of Madison Avenue, a multibillion-dollar development battle is brewing.
Within a matter of months, Extell Development and Related Cos. have set in motion plans for ultra-luxury skyscrapers on the eastern corners of 60th and 59th streets. The developers are known to be aggressive, being responsible for shaping Billionaires’ Row and Hudson Yards, but their investments are just the start of the area’s rebirth.
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Extell and Related might be the earliest, biggest movers, but they are far from alone. Across the avenue, Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. is contemplating the future of the shuttered Barneys store, a Madison Avenue staple.
A pension fund last month reportedly tapped Silverman's team at Eastdil to market 590 Madison Ave. for $1.1B.
“The location is perfect,” Ariel Property Advisors President and founder Shimon Shkury said. “Actually, I personally think the location is probably better than Billionaires’ Row, in a way.”
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The bidding war in the Plaza District was kicked off by luxury retailers on Fifth Avenue aiming to choke out competition and strengthen their brand dominance.
At the end of 2023, Prada shelled out $853M for two buildings at 720 and 724 Fifth Ave., and Kering, the parent company of Gucci and Balenciaga, splurged nearly $1B on 715-717 Fifth Ave. Rolex is also building a new 28-story headquarters and flagship at 665 Fifth, and Chanel and LVMH are reportedly going head-to-head in negotiations for 745 Fifth.
And other sales are in the works. This week, Bloomberg reported that Naftali Group entered a contract to buy 800 Fifth Ave. for more than $800M, a price and buyer that suggest a luxury condo tower could be in the works.
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On Madison Avenue's eastern flank, titans of finance have piled into offices on Park Avenue, where availability is among the lowest in the world. JPMorgan Chase and Citadel are building new towers for themselves, and private equity juggernauts are battling for whatever top-end space is left, routinely paying more than $150 per SF.
Those investments in office and retail have consolidated New York City’s high net worth individuals into what is, more or less, a single 1,000-foot radius around one small section of Madison Avenue.
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655 Madison Ave.
Starting in October, Gary Barnett’s Extell spent more than $260M to acquire the office building at 655 Madison and the adjacent buildings at 33-39 E. 60th St. The 200K SF tower is in the process of being razed, while demolition permits have been filed for four smaller buildings around the corner.
Holdover petitions to remove one resident and two restaurants, Il Mulino and Philippe Chow, were filed in civil court early last year, though a waiter at the upscale Chinese restaurant told Bisnow last week he had no knowledge — and a newfound fear — that a condo development could result in him losing his job.
Extell didn't respond to Bisnow’s request for comment but seems to be moving ahead on its Madison Avenue scheme. Plans filed before the purchases of 33-39 E. 60th describe a new 37-story mixed-use development with retail, office, hotel and residential.
Industry insiders speculate that the 37-story tower may not be the final vision.
“It's not [Barnett's] style. Based on analyzing work that he's done for so long, that just doesn't seem like what he does,” said Duane Burress, who specializes in land and air rights valuations.
A lawsuit filed this week has bolstered that hypothesis. The buyer of an $80M unit at 520 Park Ave. sued Zeckendorf Development, claiming that the penthouse was sold without warning that Extell has “secret plans” to build a skyscraper on Madison Avenue that “will tower over” and block the views of the existing 64-story building.
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625 Madison Ave.
A block to the south, demolition crews donning gas masks are swarming the corner of 59th Street and Madison, where Related plans to erect a 68-story residential supertall. It is expected to yield 101 condo units, along with an array of amenities, restaurant space and two floors of retail.
“625 Madison Avenue holds a special place in Related’s history as our former corporate headquarters for nearly two decades,” a spokesperson for the firm told Bisnow in a statement. “We look forward to starting a new chapter for the building by delivering exceptional hospitality, luxury residences, and flagship retail in one of the most sought-after areas in New York City.”
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Expected to be completed in 2032, Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, Vornado and Rudin have begun the approval process for 350 Park Ave., an office tower where the hedge fund has already committed to 800K SF. That site is a 10-minute walk away from Related’s site, according to Google Maps. One Vanderbilt, a fully occupied, 1.7M SF office that opened in 2020, is less than 20 minutes away.
Newly constructed condos in the area surrounding the 57th-to-61st-street corridor have an average sellout of over $4,600 per SF. Certain developments, like the Aman Residences at 730 Fifth Ave., sell for as much as $8K per SF, according to market data analysis provided by Ariel Property Advisors. The last sponsor unit at the Aman sold for $66M in January.
“If I'm working at One Vanderbilt or 550 Madison, I probably can live [nearby] in a luxury apartment building,” Shkury said. “So, I work in the best building in the world with the best people in the world. I live in the best location in the world with all of the amenities I need.”
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660 Madison Ave.
Contrasted with the pounding sounds of jackhammers, the former Barneys store at 660 Madison Ave. sits quiet. In the window of what was once a small salon, abandoned bottles of hair products remain on display, gathering dust.
The nine-story retail condo, owned by Ashkenazy, was vacated by the department chain in 2020. It was briefly occupied by a Louis Vuitton pop-up in 2022 but has otherwise remained empty. Still, the developer has clung to the space.
“Barneys is the best piece of real estate on Madison Avenue,” Ben Ashkenazy said last year. “I’ve chosen to keep it vacant for a reason, because one big retailer is going to buy it.”
An empty building could be the perfect opportunity to compete with Extell and Related — and Ashkenazy has some added motivation. He once owned the ground under 625 Madison Ave. Ashkenazy’s partner Michael Alpert previously called the land “absolutely one of the best development sites in Manhattan.”
But Ashkenazy lost the site to SL Green in August 2023 following a combative foreclosure process. Related paid $633M for the property a few months later.
Now, 660 Madison Ave. could go up against the new construction across the street, if Ashkenazy or another developer so chooses, insiders say. A new tower on the site may even be able to block views of 625 Madison, harming its value.
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