NEW YORK | 625 Madison Ave | 684 FT | 34 FLOORS

[mrnyc]

^ if they move it’s an opportunity to bring back la cote basque.

[NYguy]

https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/07/23/related-looks-to-recruit-polo-bar-to-625-madison/

Related looks to recruit Polo Bar to 625 Madison





Holden Walter-Warner

Jeff Blau’s recruitment pitch for office tenants at 625 Madison Avenue could include proximity to one of the most exclusive eateries in New York City.

Related Companies is in discussions to bring Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar to the Midtown Manhattan development, the Wall Street Journal reported. Details about the lease and the potential relocation from 1 East 55th Street were not disclosed.

Related’s interest in bringing the Polo Bar to 625 Madison places the office project in good company among developers looking to draw tenants with high-dollar amenities, including prestigious dining outposts.

“There are only a handful of restaurants that are on that same level as Polo Bar,” JLL’s Evan Margolin told the Journal. “Everybody knows it. Everybody wants to go there.”

[ChiND]

[NYguy]

https://nypost.com/2026/07/23/real-estate/polo-bar-will-leave-its-nyc-location-for-free-rent/

Famed Polo Bar will leave its iconic NYC home for free rent — risking its exclusivity









By Mary K. Jacob and Kyra Breslin
July 23, 2026

This is an offer that could not be refused.

After more than a decade as one of New York’s most impossible tables to book, Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar is leaving the wood-paneled Midtown perch that made it a fixture of the city’s high-society scene, The Post has confirmed.

Related Companies has secured a deal to relocate the see-and-be-seen restaurant into a 53-story office tower it’s building four blocks north at 625 Madison Ave., according to a person familiar with the leasing negotiations. What’s more, Related is sweetening the deal with a rent break that could stretch on for years, according to a separate person familiar with the matter.

The developer has offered Polo Bar at least two years of free rent to make the move, the source said, as part of a broader push that also includes courting the restaurant’s parent company to expand into Palm Beach, all on the heels of Ralph Lauren’s recent Polo Bar opening in London.

This move will take Polo Bar out of its current home just off Fifth Avenue, where it has operated since 2015, and into the ground floor of a brand-new tower expected to be completed in the summer of 2029.

Polo Bar has drawn a steady stream of famous faces through its equestrian-lined dining room, from Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce to the Kardashians. The restaurant has also become a favorite among fashion and entertainment circles.

News of the possible move has already rippled through the exclusive circle of regulars who treat a Polo Bar table as a status symbol more than a meal.

Penn Portman, who recently celebrated a birthday at the restaurant, said she would welcome a change of address if it came with better odds of getting a table.

“If another location helps being able to get reservations easily, I’m extremely down,” Portman, who is in her 30s and resides on the Upper East Side, told The Post.

Landing a table at Polo Bar has become its own small industry of insider knowledge.

Regulars describe a routine in which hopefuls call the restaurant, are told they would check availability and then Google the person before a reservation is confirmed — with availability tightening further as the restaurant’s profile has grown.

Some diners say the best odds come from calling first thing on Tuesday mornings, when same-day cancellations are confirmed and slots can open up.

Employees of Ralph Lauren and Polo brands are also known to have an easier path to a table, according to people familiar with the reservation process, who said openings are sometimes offered informally to those connected to the company.

Molly Friedman, 34, a longtime New Yorker and Polo Bar regular who lives near the restaurant’s current location, said she typically gets her reservations through a family connection rather than calling in cold.

“Because of my uncle I always go with him,” Friedman said of the business strategist and former Estée Lauder executive John Demsey. “Or I would get him to make [a reservation] for me.”

Friedman said she is skeptical the move would preserve what makes the restaurant special in the first place, describing the downstairs space as central to its appeal.

“The point of the downstairs is that it is like a cave … sexy and it brings so many personalities,” Friedman told The Post. “I feel like if they cater to the office type I’m not sure what vibe that’s going to bring. Obviously they will make it stunning and the food will be great. But [it’s] all about the mood.”

[ChiND]

I’d love to see the west facade too.

[NYguy]

July 23, 2026

[ChiND]

I preferred the older version that had more terraces. Interestingly, this does not look 100 feet taller than the GM Building.





https://www.related.com/our-company/properties/625-madison-avenue

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ChiND

I preferred the older version that had more terraces. Interestingly, this does not look 100 feet taller than the GM Building.


https://www.related.com/our-company/properties/625-madison-avenue

Using the height given…

Square Footage
858,500


625 Madison Avenue is the first ground-up office development to arrive in Manhattan's Plaza District in over three decades. Rising 684 feet on Madison Avenue between 58th and 59th Streets, the building sits at the center of the Plaza District, surrounded by the city's finest retail, private clubs, hotels, and dining.

[ChiND]

Thanks. I looked quickly and did not see that height figure. This might not be the final design then.

[Crawford]

At 800 ft., this building might be ok-ish. But 684 ft. is ridiculous for the location. This is a supertall-worthy site.

[Zapatan]

800ft was the maximum, we always knew it'd be around this but I agree, blown opportunity height wise but okay design.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Crawford

At 800 ft., this building might be ok-ish. But 684 ft. is ridiculous for the location. This is a supertall-worthy site.

Well, the original plan was for a supertall. That was residential. They are capitalizing on the lucrative office market. It will be among the top trophy towers in town. They could have gone either way, but chose this as the better option. Makes sense, with the nearby competition, including possibly another of Related's own.

[ChiND]

NYGuy:

Do you think that the 800 foot plan is dead? I thought that it was a pretty easy route to get the extra square footage with transit improvements.

Anyway, I’d much rather have this than that absurd tall stick that was proposed.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ChiND

NYGuy:

Do you think that the 800 foot plan is dead? I thought that it was a pretty easy route to get the extra square footage with transit improvements.

Anyway, I’d much rather have this than that absurd tall stick that was proposed.

800 ft was the max height. The impact wouldn’t be much more greater, given the supertalls nearby.

[ChiND]

It will be interesting to see the final design for 570 5th.

Although 625 Madison has the best location of the new office towers between 42nd and 59th, 343 and 346 Madison have better designs in my opinion and 570 might as well.

We got really lucky with 270 and 350 Park and 2 WTC because Foster often drops the ball. That being said, this looks better than his usual work, and it’s far superior to the ridiculous stick that was envisioned.

We really dodged a bullet. Not only will 625 be decent, but it won't even be noticeable on the skyline unlike this hideous proposal.


NYYimby

[Urbannizer]

https://newyorkyimby.com/2026/07/foundat...madison-avenue-in-midtown-manhattan.html

[NYguy]

Won’t be long before it’s under construction.



https://www.grubstreet.com/article/polo-bar-nyc-moving-report.html

Is the Polo Bar Really Moving?
Ralph Lauren’s wood-paneled clubhouse is reportedly heading to a glassy new tower.





Alan Sytsma

…..when rumors started to float around last week that the Polo Bar was going to relocate, I dismissed them in our office Slack. I’m hardly a regular, and it’s been at least a few years since my last trip there, but to my mind, this is a restaurant that feels exactly like the semi-private VIP clubhouse it strives to be. It’s a dangerous game for any establishment to mess with that carefully calibrated alchemy.

Well, I was wrong. The New York Post reported that “Related Companies has secured a deal to relocate the see-and-be-seen restaurant into a 53-story office tower it’s building.” The reason to roll the dice, according to the report: Ralph Lauren & Co. will get two years of free rent at its new home. When I asked a rep for the restaurant if the report was accurate, they simply wrote back, “Nothing to say other than the Polo Bar remains open & busy on East 55th!” This is what’s known in the biz as “not a denial,” but whatever is going on, any move reportedly wouldn’t open until 2029.

That gives Lauren’s formidable team of design experts plenty of time to figure out a way to capture the current restaurant’s sense of subterranean seclusion inside a new glass tower. I guess you start by hanging a few horse paintings and go from there.

[NYguy]

AUGUST 16, 2026

[ChiND]

I’m sure that this will turn out beautifully, but it’s pretty underwhelming for the location.

[ChiND]

Maybe this will be 800 feet tall.



Maasah717