NEW YORK | ABC Headquarters redevelopment | (1,250 - 420) FT | 86 & 25 FLOORS

[NYguy]

https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2025/09...-equity-infusion-for-disney-campus-more/

Barnett scores $1.2B equity infusion for Disney campus, Torch, more
Hedge fund backs nine Extell projects, including 1.8M sf UWS development





September 8, 2025

Extell Development landed a $1.2 billion lifeline for its jam-packed pipeline.

An undisclosed hedge fund is taking a preferred equity stake in nine projects from Gary Barnett’s shop, according to Tel Aviv Stock Exchange filings translated by Bisnow. The infusion provides a glimpse into Barnett’s next chapter as the hedge fund backing could help bring several long-simmering assemblages to market at once.

The splashiest is on the Upper West Side, where Extell is teeing up a 1.8 million-square-foot mixed-use complex at Disney’s old ABC campus. Barnett shelled out $921 million for the properties in 2022 and preservationists warn zoning allows a 1,200-foot tower, which would dwarf other properties in the neighborhood. Barnett has been speaking with the community personally to get this project across the finish line.

[NYguy]

CB& meeting...


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DbiNjmDiyRfq4eq_iP3iPjwv1uZ6voDY/edit?tab=t.0

Housing & Land Use Committee, Seema Reddy, Chairperson
Wednesday, September 17th, 6:30 PM

3. Extell Development’s Project at the former ABC Site. Community Concerns.

[NYguy]

Community Board meeting from a couple of days ago...(about 1:06 it begins)



• Video Link

[NYguy]

https://ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/news/2025/...e-building-could-rise-on-upper-west-side

Building nearly as tall as Empire State Building could rise on Upper West Side





BY Eric Feldman
Sep. 19, 2025

A building nearly as tall as the Empire State Building could be in the works soon in a neighborhood in Manhattan where one might least expect it: the Upper West Side.

The scaffolding is up and the work is underway to dismantle what was the longtime headquarters for ABC News, between West 66th and West 67th streets.

While no building plans have been filed with the city's Department of Buildings yet, the developer's founder, Gary Barnett, gave community members insight during a community board meeting this past spring.

“The 1,200-foot-tall building. That’s what we’re planning,” he told the board.

A building of that height would be about one-third taller than 50 West 66th St. and nearly twice the size of 200 Amsterdam Ave. — the two tallest buildings in the neighborhood.

Both of those projects, during development, generated controversy because of how high they were. And the community has taken notice of this project as well.

“I’ve been following the project and dreading the day it was going to start,” one speaker noted at a community board meeting this week.

“The zoning was written specifically for the American Broadcasting Company so that could have a lot of commercial uses so it could film, and anytime a show moved or it needed to reuse a set, they didn’t need a special variance," said Sean Khorsandi, the group's executive director. "With ABC leaving, there should no longer be those provisions for a broadcasting company on that site.”

He said the nonprofit spent nearly $100,000 over five years crafting that text amendment to incorporate the former ABC parcels into the Special Lincoln Square District.

But he said after initial city support, the Department of City Planning backtracked and did not accept it.

The agency discussed why, briefly, at that same May meeting where Barnett attended.

"The resulting mass was something that we at City Planning, we were not comfortable with," said Edith Hsu-Chen, the executive director for the city agency, at the time.

So in the end, it means the properties will remain zoned without a height restrictions and an as-of-right development, meaning according to the city's definition, it “does not require any discretionary action by the City Planning Commission.”

That's why the decision to not accept the text amendment surprised Councilmember Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side.

"That's why I would have liked to have the Landmark West! [text amendment]," she said. "It's good to have some kind of a stick because if you have a stick, OK, if you don't do what we want then we're going to go back to Landmark West!"

She said she is concerned about affordable housing. The current zoning does not require any affordable housing attached to the development.

However, there have been negotiations among the community board, Brewer and Barnett about the possibility of having some as part of the project.

[mrnyc]

hopefully its a slick looker instead of blando.

might as well look good on the outside since nobody is going to actually live there.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

might as well look good on the outside since nobody is going to actually live there.

People are going to live there. This is not a billionaires row type development (where people do actually live btw) anyway. There will be over 400 units, 300 minus the affordable component.



https://www.westsiderag.com/2025/09/23/d...e-possible-1200-foot-building-on-the-way

Demolition Work Sparks Complaints at Former UWS ABC Site: Possible 1,200-Foot Building on the Way





September 23, 2025
By Gus Saltonstall

Demolition work has revved up in September after permits were filed with the city for work at the former ABC campus site, now owned by Extell Development. The site covers the square block of West 66th to 67th streets between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West.

While no plans have been sent to the city by Extell regarding what it will build there once the existing structures are demolished, the developer’s founder, Gary Barnett, has told the Upper West Side Community Board 7 that it hopes to construct two properties on the site, including a 1,200-foot-tall luxury residential building that would also feature an unspecified number of affordable units.

If built, the project would be roughly the same height as the Empire State Building.

In the past two weeks, West Side Rag has received multiple emails from local residents expressing worry about both the height of the building and the conditions in areas around the demolition work.

“People on West 68th Street are very concerned about what they’re breathing in, and no one seems to care,” wrote one resident, who asked to remain anonymous.

Another resident of the area expressed similar worries.

“I’m concerned it’s giving off harmful fumes as the construction workers are wearing full PPE [personal protective equipment] and respirator masks,” the resident, who also wished to remain anonymous, wrote in an email. “I’ve noticed the windows in my apartment get covered in soot and also the cars on the street. There is constantly broken glass and fragments of other materials all over the sidewalk and road.”

On Monday, Upper West Side City Councilmember Gale Brewer sent a letter to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), expressing the concerns of residents of West 66th and 67th streets, and requesting that city agents perform an inspection of the site to “determine if all air, noise, and other laws are being followed.”

“Residents point out that their eyes and throats are burning,” wrote Brewer. “They are correctly concerned about what they are breathing. Residents complain to my office that there is a sharp smell of burning plastic coming from 67th and Columbus.” Brewer’s office confirmed that inspectors from the city visited the site on Monday.

WSR also visited on Monday and observed multiple doormen along West 67th Street, between Columbus and Central Park West, wearing face masks.

“Keep the door closed or the smell will get in,” one resident told a doorman on the way out of his building on the block, but neither wanted to speak further on the record.

How Tall Will It Be?
The possibility of a 1,200-foot building on West 66th and 67th streets, and comparisons of it to the Empire State building, have appeared in multiple headlines and articles in recent weeks.

Here’s a more Upper West Side-based comparison: A 1,200-foot building would be almost twice the height of the 200 Amsterdam Avenue development [668 feet], which was considered controversial for being too tall. If a new building were to be constructed at that height, it would be by far the tallest in the neighborhood.

But so far, no new building permits with any specific dimensions have been filed with the city for the former ABC site, and Extell Development is under no obligation to file them until after the demolition work is completed. That completion date is unknown.

That said, Barnett and Extell have publicly stated their wishes for the new building to reach its fully allowable stature, which is 1,291 feet.

Does that mean that Extell can build something that high, and the city has no means to block it?

The short answer? Yes they can, and no there aren’t.

What they always fail to mention (or probably don't even understand) in these articles, is that Extell can build taller than what is planned, and was previously planning to. Barnett decided he would just build a lower highrise (about 350-400 ft) to make up the rest of the FAR, but he said the other tower being considered was "considerably" taller.

[Zapatan]

Originally Posted by NYguy

What they always fail to mention (or probably don't even understand) in these articles, is that Extell can build taller than what is planned, and was previously planning to. Barnett decided he would just build a lower highrise (about 350-400 ft) to make up the rest of the FAR, but he said the other tower being considered was "considerably" taller.

"considerably" taller than 350-400 feet would still probably not be that tall.



I really hope this happens but I guess likely not anymore?

That said, Barnett and Extell have publicly stated their wishes for the new building to reach its fully allowable stature, which is 1,291 feet.

[chris08876]

This would be taller than 30 Hudson if the max allowable height is allowed.

Damn, not bad at all. Way to go Extell!

Would have a profound impact on the area. I hope the local clowns don't fight to downsize though.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

"considerably" taller than 350-400 feet would still probably not be that tall.



I really hope this happens but I guess likely not anymore?

You fail to understand, on several fronts. That’s why I posted the video (and several articles). The “other” tower was a single tower, not the smaller two tower project planned now. And this tower is as-of-right, and requires NO affordable housing.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by chris08876

This would be taller than 30 Hudson if the max allowable height is allowed.

Damn, not bad at all. Way to go Extell!

It was worded wrongly in that article. Replace “the” with “a”, and you get a more accurate account. The current tower is allowable, as was the previous, taller version Barnett was planning.



Here’s the conversation again…


• Video Link

[Zapatan]

Delete

[The New York Lion]

Originally Posted by chris08876

This would be taller than 30 Hudson if the max allowable height is allowed.

Damn, not bad at all. Way to go Extell!

Would have a profound impact on the area. I hope the local clowns don't fight to downsize though.

They can't.

This tower is as of right.

[Crawford]

So the main tower will be 1,291? That would be pretty amazing.

[The New York Lion]

Originally Posted by Crawford

So the main tower will be 1,291? That would be pretty amazing.

And that is the short version.

Extell could easily scrap the 300-400 foot building and build a much taller Tower (1,500-1,600 feet I'd imagine)

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Crawford

So the main tower will be 1,291? That would be pretty amazing.

That's where Extell is now with the building. The height was never 1,200 ft, but it's a 1,200 ft building. It's the shorter version, and I think about as high as they should go for now, as it pertains to the skyline as a whole (1,300 ft in that location). I like the tallest buildings being in Midtown. But even at 1,291 ft, it would still be taller than both 625 and 655 Madison - both of which will be very tall towers.

[maxy]

Looking at the overall lot and renderings I'm curious what they will do with the space between the 2 proposed towers. Rough napkin math shows ~100k sqft lot size (with some of the lot is in historic district so not sure how that calculates out) and with a FAR of 10 that's ~1M sqft total buildable space. With a 1200ft tower and 300ft tower that in total is probably similar to Central park tower (1500ft) which is ~1.2M sqft and not far off from my napkin math of total buildable lot.

If they used the whole lot size to build these 2 towers I wonder what they'll do with the empty space between them along 66th across from Extell's new 50W 66th.

[NYguy]

The splashiest is on the Upper West Side, where Extell is teeing up a 1.8 million-square-foot mixed-use complex at Disney’s old ABC campus.

Extell is developing 4buikdings (3 new, one conversion of an existing building). The two affordable housing building will be small, in scale with existing buildings. The 350 ft tower will be mid-block, with the tallest tower being on the western end. Barnett said the will be keeping with the streetwall.

[maxy]

Ah 1.8M sqft I see. Looking at the historic map and from the CB7 meeting, 7 West 66th is the existing building gut reno, 24 West 67th is landmarked and cannot be torn down, and 30 West 67th is also part of landmark district which they'll tear down and Gary said they'll build a 9 story building keeping the same height as other buildings on 67th as they also need landmark approval for that.

For the 2 towers, the 1200ft is to the West like you said, but in the video Gary mentioned the 300ft will "be more to the east", don't see anything about mid-block. Looking at the sample mass renderings from earlier and also just looking at the lot it still looks like there's space between the 2 towers where 47 66th street spans, right behind those smaller resy buildings not a part of ABC. Perhaps they'll just save some sqft for low-rise commercial space.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by maxy

Ah 1.8M sqft I see. Looking at the historic map and from the CB7 meeting, 7 West 66th is the existing building gut reno, 24 West 67th is landmarked and cannot be torn down, and 30 West 67th is also part of landmark district which they'll tear down and Gary said they'll build a 9 story building keeping the same height as other buildings on 67th as they also need landmark approval for that.

For the 2 towers, the 1200ft is to the West like you said, but in the video Gary mentioned the 300ft will "be more to the east", don't see anything about mid-block. Looking at the sample mass renderings from earlier and also just looking at the lot it still looks like there's space between the 2 towers where 47 66th street spans, right behind those smaller resy buildings not a part of ABC. Perhaps they'll just save some sqft for low-rise commercial space.

24 West 67th isn't landmarked, but is in the historic district, same as 30 W. 67th. The smaller affordable building on W. 67th will be new, but at the same scale as the other buildings in the historic district, and then the existing building at 7 W. 66th will be converted.

What Gary meant by the smaller tower being more "east" is east of the 1,200 ft tower, or midblock. Whether or not there will be space depends on the design. There could very well be no space between the two, or there could be lowrise retail or some othere type of space.

The issue with the board seems to be just what type (size) of units they want in the 2 affordable buildings. Gale Brewer wants more affordable housing in the market rate buildings, but she's not getting that. Extell is moving forward with its plans, so if they want a say in what goes into those smaller affordable buildings, they better come to a consensus quickly, and let it be known.







You can see the borders of the historic district here...

[NYguy]

Rough idea of the tower on the skyline. I think it will fit in nicely.