NEW YORK | 343 Madison Avenue | 844 FT | 49 FLOORS

[NYguy]

https://nypost.com/2025/10/19/business/m...ing-with-return-to-office-in-full-swing/

Midtown real estate is booming with return-to-office in ‘full swing’

By Steve Cuozzo
Oct. 19, 2025

BXP’s likely anchor tenant at 343 Madison Ave. — a ground-up, $2 billion project linked to Grand Central Terminal — will be financial firm C.V. Starr.

The deal would be for 275,000 square feet, the Commercial Observer later reported. It was assumed BXP had landed a tenant when it started vertical construction but no names surfaced until now. BXP, a publicly traded company, predictably had no comment when we asked.

The deal occurs against the backdrop of a seemingly unstoppable market. Transwestern’s third-quarter earnings report cited a Manhattan office recovery “in full swing,” with reductions in both direct and sublease availability to 14.8%.

Maybe most significantly, Transwestern found the construction pipeline “near historic lows” with just 3.2 million square feet in active construction — 22% less than the previous quarter. Demand for more space while little new space comes online will surely drive up rents.

[NYguy]

https://nypost.com/2025/10/21/real-estate/why-new-nyc-office-towers-are-breaking-ground/

Rise & shine: Why massive new Manhattan office towers are breaking ground now


By Lois Weiss
Oct. 21, 2025

They won’t top out until the end of the decade, but iconic new Manhattan office towers are finally going vertical.

And no wonder: Asking rents for beautiful, technologically advanced office space in prime locations are soaring toward $200 per foot.

Meanwhile, the success of JPMorgan Chase’s glamorous new headquarters at 270 Park Ave. is serving as proof of concept for ambitious new skyline stunners.

“It is creating a buzz about how transformative new construction is to the city,” said David Goldstein of Savills. “The new construction pipeline is definitely taking shape and the first out of the ground will have pricing and timing advantage.”

One of the earliest will be BXP’s 343 Madison Ave., designed by KPF, with 937,000 square feet. It has a letter of intent with C.V. Starr for a third of the 46-story tower, which won’t be delivered until 2029.

Not to be outdone, Scott Rechler’s RXR and TF Cornerstone are talking to anchor office tenants for their jumbo 2.9 million-square-foot tower at 175 Park Ave. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, it would rise 1,575 feet above Grand Central Terminal and include a Hyatt hotel and transit improvements.

Vornado and Rudin are also in the game. They just got city approval to build a new 1.7 million-square-foot tower at 350 Park Ave. — with Citadel as partner and a 850,000-square-foot anchor space.

And Silverstein Properties is closing in on a deal with American Express to move from Brookfield Place to a new 2 World Trade Center, now likely to be around 2 million square feet.

In a move from Rockefeller Center, Deloitte has agreed to lease 700,000 square feet of Related’s 1.1 million-square-foot 70 Hudson Yards that is now under construction.

Nearby, BXP and Joseph Moinian are inching closer to getting 3 Hudson Blvd. out of the ground.

[chris08876]

Credit: Whathewhy

[NYguy]

Some minor modification approvals due to some parapet nonsense at the Yale Club.



https://zap.planning.nyc.gov/projects/2026M0218

343 Madison Ave Non-ULURP Modification

Project Brief:

A non-ULURP Modification[actions] of the 2021 Approvals in order to update the design note on the approved drawing sheets and apply a lower streetwall height exclusively to the 44th Street frontage, is being sought by private [applicant] at 343 Madison Avenue in Central Midtown Manhattan, CD5

Building still looks to be about 932 ft.

[ChiND]

Interesting. I thought it was supposed to be about 850'.

[Crawford]

This tower is 932 ft. now?

For those not in the industry, it's really confusing reading these buildings documents.

[NYguy]

That's normally resolved with the building diagram, which has been mixed. But they are just adjusting a minor detail due to this requirement. What's on file now with the DOB is the 800 footer, which is probably what it will be.

[ChiND]

I find the top to be somewhat awkward, so 800 feet sounds good to me. It won't stick out.

[NYguy]

[ChiND]

Related to this tower, I wonder if the pedestrianization of the Park Avenue Viaduct and all of Vanderbilt Avenue was discussed. Further, I’d love to see the Grand Central Partnership lead an effort to buy Milstein’s property (335 Madison Avenue) and build a park on that site. Developers and huge property owners like JPMC could underwrite it. This area is starved for greenspace.

https://www.kpf.com/news/kpf-hosts-urban-design-forum-panel-on-public-realm-in-midtown-east

[chris08876]

Credit: 5Bfilms

[NYguy]

https://commercialobserver.com/2025/10/anchor-tenants-manhattan-office-2025/

Anchor Tenants Are Disrupting Manhattan’s Office Market — in a Good Way


By Isabelle Durso
October 28, 2025

“Breaking into the universe of skyscraper development requires complete faith on the part of the anchor that the capital’s there and that [a developer] knows how to build,” Tighe said. “You should not be learning on the job. You better have built somewhere else, and you certainly shouldn’t be starting the first time in New York. The sponsor has to be able to demonstrate a capacity not only to capitalize, but to construct.”

BXP is certainly aware of that. The real estate investment trust’s 1.8 million-square-foot development at 3 Hudson Boulevard will likely require an anchor tenant in the range of 600,000 to 700,000 square feet in order to secure construction financing, Spann said.

It managed fine at 343 Madison. BXP is in the process of turning the former Metropolitan Transportation Authority HQ into a 46-story, 930,000-square-foot tower with offices, dining spaces, terraces and a seemingly endless amount of amenities. The first phase of construction on that project will be completed in June 2026, while the second and final phase is set to be done in 2029, Spann said.

Because 343 Madison is being built on a smaller scale than 3 Hudson Boulevard, BXP is funding construction off its balance sheet since it’s easier to fund a smaller development in the interim, Spann said. In addition, BXP has no joint venture partner at 343 Madison, allowing it to control the entire project. That made C.V. Starr’s anchor lease the icing on the cake.

“If you have the capital available to fund, you don’t have to have a pre-lease tenant,” Spann said. “But, for most developers in the market, if you require equity capital or debt capital, those capital providers are going to want to see some level of pre-
leasing just to get comfortable with the fact that it’s something that will be desirable at the end of development, and that they’ll make a return on their investment.”

[NYguy]

NOVEMBER 30, 2025

[NYguy]

https://commercialobserver.com/2025/12/t...key-club-among-new-leases-52-vanderbilt/

Turner Construction, Jockey Club Among New Leases at 52 Vanderbilt


BY LARRY GETLEN
DECEMBER 4, 2025

Turner Construction, which is headquartered at 66 Hudson Boulevard East, has taken 9,275 square feet across the building’s entire 12th floor for a new field office. This location will allow the company close proximity to 343 Madison Avenue. Developer BXP selected Turner in August 2025 to build the new 930,000-square-foot office tower.

[ajbeaver25]

It's so bizzare that they already installed glass before the building is barely above the ground

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ajbeaver25

It's so bizzare that they already installed glass before the building is barely above the ground

That's for one of the new/direct entrances into Grand Central Madison (the new LIRR station at Grand Central). It's supposed to be open in a couple of months. That's exciting in itself, as the station will have a direct street-level presence. It's directly next to an existing GC entrance (on 45th), but that goes to Grand Central proper.

[ajbeaver25]

Gotchu, yeah that's really cool

[mrnyc]

from today —
lots of pit work —

[NYguy]

https://aijourn.com/bxp-and-starr-announ...343-madison-avenue-in-midtown-manhattan/

BXP and Starr Announce Lease Signing at BXP’s 343 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan

Business Wire

BXP (NYSE: BXP), the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, announced today the signing of an approximately 275,000 square foot, 20-year lease with Starr, a global investment and insurance organization, at 343 Madison Avenue, a 930,000 square foot premier workplace currently under construction, with direct access to Grand Central’s Madison Concourse between 44th and 45th Street. Starr will occupy floors 16 through 27 in their entirety, leasing approximately 30% of the building. This location will serve as Starr’s New York headquarters.

Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the 46-story tower will offer a hospitality-forward amenity program and market leading sustainability features. A dramatic double-height, client-exclusive club on the top floors will include spaces to dine, connect, and collaborate indoors and out, with striking terraces and expansive views overlooking Midtown.

A robust food and beverage program including a lobby café and bicycle storage with cabanas and showers round out the amenity program. Specialty floors including private terraces and elevated ceiling heights allow clients to design a multi-functional workplace that accommodates a variety of work styles and space needs. Sustainability features include a fully electric design with zero on-site combustion and a high efficiency direct outside air system. Target certifications include LEED Platinum, Well Core, Energy Star 85+, Fitwel, and WiredScore Platinum. BXP expects to deliver 343 Madison in late 2029.

[ChiND]

It's amazing how 343 Madison, 570 Fifth, and 70 HY filled pretty much immediately. I think the same will be true for SL GReen's Brooks Brothers tower and for 625 Madison. Further, rent at 625 likely will be astronomical and unprecedented.