Gary Barnett Buys More Air Rights for 570 Fifth Ave Project
Gary Barnett is putting together more of the pieces for his grand office and retail project at 570 Fifth Avenue.
Extell Development agreed to buy 87,000 square feet in air rights from the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in service of the Midtown Manhattan project, the Commercial Observer reported. The air rights will directly support a 29-story building expected to be delivered in the next two years.
The $24 million agreement between Extell and the Episcopal church was reached at the end of last year, according to PincusCo. While the relevant church bodies have approved the sale — which follows other air rights deals for the institution — it still needs approval from the New York Supreme Court.
Extell did not respond to a request for comment on the deal from the Observer.
The air rights acquisition could turbocharge Extell’s project at 570 Fifth, one of several prominent developments in the works for the company.
In March, JPMorgan Chase provided Extell with $417 million to refinance the project, a development site comprising more than a dozen properties assembled by Barnett.
Extell’s plan for the site — between West 46th and 47th streets — evolved from a proposed supertall into a 29-story office-and-retail tower. Ikea, through Ingka Investments, is set to anchor the retail component with 80,000 square feet and a one-third stake in the full project.
In 2021, Extell filed plans for a 78-story mixed-use tower with more than 1,500 hotel rooms and nearly 500 apartments at the same site. But the developer doubled down on the office play and secured financing from South Korea’s IGIS Asset Management to move forward.
Global law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was reported last summer to be poised to take roughly 700,000 square feet to anchor the Midtown development. The developer completed a $175 million land buy last year to round out the necessary assemblage on the ground, but needed more air rights to hit its ultimate ambition.
Delivery of the KPF-designed tower is expected by the end of 2028.
Last month, Extell finalized $1.25 billion in construction financing for “The Torch,” a Times Square supertall project, including an $1.1 billion construction loan led by JPMorgan and a $150 million mezzanine loan.
The 60-story development at 740 Eighth Avenue is two-thirds complete and will feature a 1,800-room hotel, 130,000 square feet of advertising space and a 250-foot amusement ride.
Read more
Extell lands $417M loan for 570 Fifth Ave development
Extell finalizes $1.3B loan for Times Square supertall
Extell finds anchor tenant for 570 Fifth Ave
