Midtown

575 Fifth Avenue

Renovations Planned at 575 Fifth Avenue, a 35-Story, 360,000-Square-Foot Office Tower in Midtown

Property owners Beacon Capital Partners and MetLife (the insurance company) are planning to execute a $25 million renovate on their 35-story, 533,695-square-foot multi-use commercial building at 575 Fifth Avenue, located on the corner of East 47th Street in Midtown. Planned is a redesigned lobby, new exterior and interior elements such as a building canopy, signage/advertising, and lighting, and new amenities such as a 6,000-square-foot conference center and a lounge, Real Estate Weekly reports. The 360,000-square-foot office portion already connects to the building’s three stories of retail and restaurants via an atrium. Barneys New York recently signed on to 72,000 square feet at the tower, and Westpac Banking Corporation and Northwood Investors each have leased 15,000 square feet. The building was developed in 1983.


685 Fifth Avenue

Office Portion of 20-Story 685 Fifth Avenue Getting 90-Key Boutique Hotel Conversion & Expansion, Midtown

In April, news broke that Istanbul-based Gulaylar Group entered into contract to acquire the entire 90,000-square-foot office portion of the 20-story, 115,000-square-foot multi-use commercial building at 685 Fifth Avenue, on the corner of East 54th Street in Midtown. The deal includes the development rights to vertically expand the building by five stories. Those air rights were made available after property owners General Growth Properties and Thor Equities repositioned the building’s three stories of retail space, which now measures 23,400 square feet and is being made into Coach’s flagship store. Now, Gulaylar has disclosed plans to convert the office portion they are buying, along with the future expansion, into a 90-key boutique hotel, The Real Deal Reports. Five hotel chains, including Oetker Collection, AccorHotels, and LVMH’s Cheval Blanc, are currently in negotiations with the developer. The building’s remaining office tenant is moving out in August. Walter Marin’s Midtown-based Marin Architects is the architect of record for the expansion.



220 Central Park South, as seen from West 58th Street. Photo by Tectonic for YIMBY

Construction Update: 220 Central Park South

It’s been a few months since we last checked in on the Robert A.M. Stern Architects-designed 116-unit residential project going up at 220 Central Park South. Back in February, the tower portion had risen to about 15 stories. Now, as seen in photos supplied to YIMBY by photographer Tectonic, the tower has risen past 25 stories, on its way to 70, with more of the Alabama Silver Shadow limestone cladding in place.

Read More

685 First Avenue

Reveal for 42-Story, 556-Unit Rental/Condo Tower Planned at 685 First Avenue, Murray Hill

In August of 2015, YIMBY reported on applications for a 42-story, 550-unit mixed-use building at 685 First Avenue, located between East 39th and 40th streets in Murray Hill. Now, new details and renderings of the building have been revealed by the Wall Street Journal. The 459-foot-tall tower will actually contain 556 residential units and measure a whopping 828,000 square feet in its entirety. Two-thirds of the units will be rental apartments while the remaining one-third will be condominiums. Amenities include an underground 110-car garage, storage for 282 bikes, laundry facilities, a pool, a fitness center, a library, and recreational and assembly rooms. There will also be 10,088 square feet of ground-floor retail. Richard Meier & Partners Architects is behind the design, and Sheldon Solow is the developer. Excavation is reportedly underway, and completion is expected in 2018.

Read More

Fetching more...