NEW YORK | 3 East 54th Street | FT | FLOORS

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ChiND

While the Saint Thomas air rights could go to a mystery site, it seems that 54th and 5th or 532 Madison are the most likely recipients.

532 Madison is way too small, even if they assembled some neighboring sites it's could be too small. I'm not sure if anything changed with City of Yes, but the limit on landmarks transfer was somewhere between 20 and 30 % of total development size. Extell is said to get about 123,000 sf of air rights.

[ChiND]

Originally Posted by NYguy

532 Madison is way too small, even if they assembled some neighboring sites it's could be too small. I'm not sure if anything changed with City of Yes, but the limit on landmarks transfer was somewhere between 20 and 30 % of total development size. Extell is said to get about 123,000 sf of air rights.

So 5th and 54th seems to be the most likely candidate.

[ChiND]

From Pincus Co:

"Vornado Realty Trust pays $141M to Cohen Brothers Realty for office in Midtown East"

January 14, 2026 9:19 am

This suggests, as expected, that the dilapidated garage is included in the site that Vornado purchased from Cohen.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ChiND

This suggests, as expected, that the dilapidated garage is included in the site that Vornado purchased from Cohen.

Yes, as shown here, this is the footprint…

[ChiND]

There must be air rights from a church that Vornado can use to make this project bigger.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ChiND

There must be air rights from a church that Vornado can use to make this project bigger.

It's surrounded by landmarks in a neighborhood of landmarks (shown in purple above). It's also in the midtown east rezoning area. They could make it larger if they wanted to.

[ChiND]

Originally Posted by NYguy

It's surrounded by landmarks in a neighborhood of landmarks (shown in purple above). It's also in the midtown east rezoning area. They could make it larger if they wanted to.

I suspect they will. They acquired the site pretty cheaply. If they built a 900' RAMSA, I suspect that the prices would average at least $4,000/sf.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ChiND

I suspect they will. They acquired the site pretty cheaply. If they built a 900' RAMSA, I suspect that the prices would average at least $4,000/sf.

They can, and they should, but this is as much as they've said about it so far:

Vornado Realty Trust bought the 280,000-square-foot property for $141 million and plans to demolish it. The developer said it could build a project as large as 230,000 square feet on the site without triggering a review by city officials.

[ChiND]

Originally Posted by NYguy

They can, and they should, but this is as much as they've said about it so far:

Thanks.

[ChiND]

I think that Vornado had an investors’ call this week. I’m curious what they said about this site.

[The New York Lion]

Originally Posted by ChiND

I think that Vornado had an investors’ call this week. I’m curious what they said about this site.

Don't forget the big one: American Express Q4 Earnings Call at 8:30 AM on January 30th.

[ChiND]

Originally Posted by The New York Lion

Don't forget the big one: American Express Q4 Earnings Call at 8:30 AM on January 30th.

[ChiND]

This tower will have slightly more square feet than 520 Park, so it could easily be 800 feet tall. Given Vornado’s massive success at 220 CPS, I hope they retain RAMSA again.

I wonder if Vornado will try to brand this as a St. Regis condo and use the adjacent hotel's services.

https://newyorkyimby.com/2016/08/54-stor...-at-520-park-avenue-upper-east-side.html

[NYguy]

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/VNO-PO/earnings/VNO-PO-Q4-2025-earnings_call-408636.html

Feb 10, 2026

Steven Roth
Chairman and CEO


In January, we closed for $141 million on the acquisition of 3 East 54th Street, a development site that is between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue on 54th Street, adjacent to the St. Regis Hotel and our prime Upper 5th Avenue retail properties.

We previously acquired the $85 million mortgage on this property, which accreted to $107 million, and that was credited towards the purchase price.

The development site currently is owned for 232,500 sq ft as of right, and the location is excellent for hotel, office, and residential uses. We are considering several options for the site and have already received interesting incoming.

[ChiND]

I assume that there are enough air rights from
Churches, etc. to double the size of this project.