BXP finalizes massive Midtown office lease as market enjoys strong start to 2026
EDDIE SMALL
January 7, 2026
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BXP has finalized its long-rumored lease with the investment and insurance company Starr for 343 Madison Ave., securing an anchor tenant for the property and getting Manhattan's office market off to a strong start after a watershed year in 2025.
The developer, formerly known as Boston Properties, had been negotiating with Starr since at least last fall and announced Wednesday morning that the company had officially signed a 20-year lease for roughly 275,000 square feet at the under-construction building. Starr will occupy the 16th through 27th floors of the 46-story Midtown tower, or about 30% of it. The space will be the New York headquarters for the global firm.
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The real estate company started work on its tower over the summer, notably and unusually, before an anchor tenant had committed to the space. The project is expected to cost $2 billion, and BXP is still looking for a new partner after its former partner, Norges Bank (Norway's sovereign wealth fund), dropped out last year.
BXP's lease with Starr comes on the heels of a banner year for the city's office market and could signal that its recovery will continue into 2026. After a steady stream of bad news since the pandemic upended the sector in 2020, companies leased almost 42 million square feet of space last year, making it the busiest year for the borough since before Covid hit in 2019, according to Colliers data.
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Our final goal is to introduce a financial partner into 343 Madison Avenue, our leading premier workplace development in New York City, given its location with direct access to Grand Central Terminal and state-of-the-art design and amenities.
We finalized a lease commitment with Starr for 29% of the space in the middle of the tower and are negotiating a letter of intent for another 16% of the building located just above Starr.
We have committed to nearly 50% of the construction costs, and our projections remain on track for a stabilized, unleveraged cash return of 7.5%-8% upon delivery in 2029. We are in discussions with several potential equity partners for a 30%-50% leveraged interest in the property and also have had constructive discussions with several construction lenders for financing at attractive terms. Our leasing, construction, and capital markets execution continues to de-risk the 343 Madison investment, and we intend to complete this recapitalization in 2026.
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Manhattan's Lack Of Big Office Blocks Forcing Companies To Start Searching For Space Sooner
February 16, 2026
Ciara Long
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There was a time not that long ago when Manhattan was awash in towers with multiple empty floors in need of a tenant. Those days are gone.
Now, companies with large office footprints are starting their renewal or relocation decisions five or more years before their leases expire to ensure they have some top-tier options to choose from.
“This is probably the frothiest time of lack of supply,” JLL Vice Chairman Mitch Konsker said. “I would probably say, in my 43-year career, it's happened two or three times.”
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Of the 35.1M SF of NYC office leases tracked by JLL in 2025, 43.8% were signed by companies taking 100K SF or more. Big-block leasing was an even greater share of the market when there were fewer deals overall in 2024, at 53.8%, according to JLL data provided to Bisnow.
Much of that demand was concentrated in Manhattan's trophy buildings, which ended the year with a 3.7% availability rate, according to Newmark.
“There are no 100K SF blocks in what's considered the best of the best part of the market,” SL Green Director of Leasing Steven Durels said last month on an earnings call
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The dearth of high-quality Manhattan office space has led to tenants signing substantial renewals and expansions in Manhattan office towers in recent months: Eight of the 10 largest leases signed in the fourth quarter fit into those categories, according to Savills.
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In fact, space in best-in-class offices for those tenants’ requirements is so tight that landlords are shuffling tenants around to create larger blocks, Mosler said. For high-profile owners of some of the city’s trophy and Class-A space, limited availability presents a new opportunity.
Vornado is working to create a 380K SF block at its Penn 1 tower, which is 89% leased, up to a 350K SF block at Penn 2, and as much as 400K SF at 1290 Sixth Ave. because of the “shortage” of large contiguous spaces, CEO Steve Roth said during his company’s earnings call on Feb. 10.
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The competition for dwindling supply at the top of the market has convinced the city's largest commercial landlords to start building new skyscrapers, confident that tenants will pay $200 per SF or more to ensure their spot.
Investment and insurance firm Starr signed for 275K SF at BXP’s planned 343 Madison Ave. tower last month, even though the developer won’t finish building the property until 2029 at the earliest.
Deloitte last year agreed to an 800K SF lease at 70 Hudson Yards, four years before its 430K SF lease at 30 Rockefeller Center expires. Co-developers The Related Cos., Oxford Properties and the Kuwait Investment Authority plan to deliver the $2.5B tower in late 2028.
Starr will pay $1.3B over its 20-year lease at 343 Madison, while Deloitte agreed to pay $2.6B for its 800K SF spread at 70 Hudson Yards, according to CompStak.
“The issue is that we don't have new products on spec,” Konsker said. “They have no choice but to look early.”
SL Green acquired the development site at 346 Madison Ave. last year and immediately set out to replace it with a boutique office building.
“My only wish is that we had the building built and ready to go today,” Durels said during the earnings call.
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Crane will reach above 1,000 ft, as per FAA study....
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Work Schedule: 07/18/2026 to 11/18/2027
Structure Height (AGL): 1051 ft
Description of Location 343 Madison Avenue Manhattan
Description of Proposal: Use of Favco M760D tower crane for new building construction.
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Law Firm McDermott Will & Schulte Negotiating 150K SF at BXP’s 343 Madison Avenue
BXP's upcoming Midtown office tower will stand 46 stories and cover 930,000 square feet
BY LOIS WEISS
APRIL 22, 2026
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Inside the new ultra-towers set to transform the NYC skyline in the coming years
By Lois Weiss
April 22, 2026
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.....After merging with Schulte Roth at 919 Third Ave. to become McDermott Will & Schulte, the law firm is now space crunched at the very full One Vanderbilt.
That combined law firm is in talks with BXP for six floors at the in-process, 46-story 343 Madison Ave., which has already signed C.V. Starr for 275,000 square feet in the base of the 930,000-square-footer.
Floors in the electric, hospitality-oriented building, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), will begin to be turned over to tenants in 2029.
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
BXP’s largest development underway is 343 Madison Avenue, our market leading premier workplace tower in New York City with direct access to Grand Central Terminal. As previously reported, we have a lease commitment for 29% of the building located in the mid-rise. We are also negotiating leases with tenants for another 27% of the building, which will bring us to 56% committed with available space at both the podium and high rise of the tower.
__________________ NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
So is the structure that's there now on the north side of the site going to stay, or is that temporary?
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"Then each time Fleetwood would be not so much overcome by remorse as bedazzled at having been shown the secret backlands of wealth, and how sooner or later it depended on some act of murder, seldom limited to once."
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