Latest news with #RXR
Time Out
27-05-2025
- Business
- Time Out
This Times Square skyscraper is being converted into hundreds of affordable apartments
Times Square may be the 'Crossroads of the World,' but soon, it'll also be the hallway to your new apartment. In a bold step to tackle New York's long-simmering housing crisis, the state has officially greenlit the transformation of 5 Times Square—once the glitzy home of EY—into a 38-story residential tower with 1,250 apartments, including 313 units deemed affordable. Set to open to tenants in 2027, the tower is part of the city's 'office-to-apartment' renaissance, fueled by post-pandemic remote work and a not-so-silent real estate reckoning. Located between 41st and 42nd Streets on Seventh Avenue, the nearly one-million-square-foot building will shift from 77% vacant to fully residential, thanks to a state-backed plan led by developer RXR. Most of the new units will be studios, and while 'affordable' in NYC means different things to different people, rents are expected to average about $2,174, less than half the typical Midtown one-bedroom going for over $4,500, per StreetEasy. 'Confronting a decades-long housing crisis requires creating new housing in every neighborhood at an accelerated pace—even here at the 'Crossroad of the World' in Times Square,' said Mayor Eric Adams. 'The transformation of 5 Times Square from an underutilized office building into 1,250 new homes capitalizes on hard-fought Adams and Hochul administration victories while fulfilling my plan to build 100,000 new homes in Manhattan over the next decade.' The project is made possible by a suite of legislative upgrades, including a juicy 90% property tax break for 30 years and the removal of outdated residential density caps. It's also one of the flashiest wins yet for the mayor's ' Manhattan Plan.' This isn't just a one-off. The old Pfizer HQ nearby is becoming 1,600 apartments. Over in FiDi, former offices of JPMorgan Chase and the National Enquirer are being reborn as rental homes. In total, more than 10,000 units are underway in NYC through office conversions.
New York Post
27-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
One of the most recognized office buildings in Times Square will soon house 1,250 new apartments
Time's up for this office building — 5 Times Square is going residential. The Times Square fixture is the former headquarters of the auditing firm Ernst & Young — whose cherry-red sign had long been a presence in the world-famous plaza. Now, the 38-story tower will yield 1,250 new homes, marking a pivotal moment in Times Square's post-pandemic reality. Advertisement 5 The 38-story tower is joining a growing list of massive office-to-residential conversions around the city. Bloomberg via Getty Images 5 Who wants to live in Times Square? Developers are betting on the bustling area's residential possibilities. Christopher Sadowski 5 The property is currently 80% empty. Bloomberg via Getty Images Advertisement The board at Empire State Development unanimously approved the building's conversion on Thursday, multiple outlets reported. The redevelopment plans include repurposing over 900,000 square feet of office space at 5 Times Square into 1,050 studio apartments and 200 one-bedroom apartments, while maintaining 37,000 square feet for retail. 'Confronting a decades-long housing crisis requires creating new housing in every neighborhood at an accelerated pace — even here at the 'Crossroad of the World' in Times Square,' said Mayor Eric Adams in a statement. A quarter of the apartments will be set aside as permanently affordable, meaning they will be available to New Yorkers earning up to 80% of the area median income. The move allows developers to snag a hefty office-to-housing tax incentive. Advertisement Construction is expected to begin at the end of this year, according to officials. The first phase of the project is expected to wrap up in 2027. 5 Passersby stroll past the near-vacant building. Bloomberg via Getty Images RXR holds the ground lease on the tower, which is owned by the city. RXR will develop the site in partnership with Apollo Global Management and SL Green, PincusCo reported in December. Scott Rechler, RXR Chairman and CEO, praised the recent news in a statement. Advertisement 'The City and State of New York have shown that, through innovative public-private partnerships, we can transform underutilized office spaces into a thriving residential community, helping to address New York's pressing housing crisis,' Rechler said. The bottom stories of 5 Times Square, situated between West 41st and 42nd streets, are lined with flashy signs and eye-catching billboards. Inside, however, the vacancy rate is near 80%, according to city officials. The tower was constructed in 2002 as the headquarters for Ernst & Young. The massive accounting and auditing firm vacated 5 Times Square in 2022 for newer digs on the West Side, leaving the glass tower all but empty. 5 Times Square is known for flashing billboards, massive retail attractions and hustling mascots. Robert Miller The conversion marks another major office-to-residential conversion in New York City, following other massive projects at 25 Water St. — the former home of JPMorgan Chase, the National Enquirer and the New York Daily News — and 55 Broad St., Goldman Sachs's former Wall Street headquarters. Ongoing projects include the conversion of Pfizer's former headquarters into 1,600 apartments and the overhaul of Downtown Brooklyn's 395 Flatbush Ave. Extension into the borough's second tallest residential tower.
Bloomberg
19-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Developer RXR Strikes Deal to Buy NYC's 590 Madison for About $1.1 Billion
RXR, the Manhattan property developer led by Scott Rechler, agreed to purchase the office tower at 590 Madison Ave. for nearly $1.1 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company is buying the building close to Central Park from the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, the person said, asking not to be named citing private details.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Real estate titans 'hold their nose' and get behind Cuomo with big money
NEW YORK — As governor, Andrew Cuomo enacted rent laws anathema to New York City's real estate titans and held up their favored tax break for more than a year. He recently hired one of their antagonists to his mayoral campaign. Yet the well-heeled industry is coalescing around his bid for mayor. The reason has to do with perceived inevitability, despite the rocky history: Cuomo is the overwhelming favorite in the Democratic primary to unseat Mayor Eric Adams. Recognizing the need to woo developers, he has gone as far as expressing regret for parts of his Albany record. Now, the industry is quietly backing him, with developers and landlords collectively donating more than $2 million to the pro-Cuomo super PAC Fix the City as they bet on him being the most viable moderate in the race. Brooklyn-based Two Trees and RXR's Scott Rechler gave the PAC $250,000 each. Vornado Chair Steven Roth, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, shelled out $150,000. And Related CEO Stephen Ross — whose firm tangled with Cuomo over the lapsed tax break nearly 10 years ago — gave $50,000. The support belies their complicated relationship with the former governor over the course of his decade in power. 'What they've said to me is, they're going to hold their nose and vote for Cuomo,' said one New York City-based lobbyist who works with the industry and was granted anonymity to speak freely about an ascendent politician with a penchant for retribution. In 2019, Cuomo signed a sweeping overhaul of the state's rent law that industry leaders widely viewed as disastrous — spurning real estate titans who expected him to block the changes. The dramatic reforms severely curtailed how much landlords could raise rents on regulated tenants and ended their ability to deregulate apartments when they passed a certain rent threshold. Cuomo left the issue up to the state Legislature, signing the eventual package of bills at a time when the political left was on the rise. 'There has been no legislation more devastating than the 2019 rent laws. It completely changed the business operating environment,' said Jay Martin, political director of the New York Apartment Association, a landlord group. 'The idea that it's not a big deal or not a huge weight on their decisions, it is — it's a huge issue, it's got to be addressed.' The wide-ranging housing deal approved in Albany last year included some rollbacks to the 2019 rent changes, but people in the industry say they did not go far enough. In March, shortly after he jumped into the mayor's race, POLITICO reported Cuomo privately expressed regret over elements of that move in a meeting with the Real Estate Board of New York. Behind the industry group's closed doors, the new mayoral candidate suggested he should have sought to curtail those laws. Perhaps just as frustrating to the industry was Cuomo's intervention with a lucrative real estate tax break that resulted in it lapsing for more than a year in 2016. In 2015, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio — hardly a favorite of the industry — went to Albany with a real estate-backed plan to replace the 421-a tax incentive, which was set to expire that June. Cuomo — by then well into a feud with de Blasio — got in the way, siding with construction trade unions that opposed the mayor's plan. Rather than extend the program, Cuomo left its future up to negotiations between REBNY and the unions over wage rules that would be attached to a new tax break. 'If government is giving subsidies to these rich real estate developers, why isn't government insisting on a fair wage for the workers on the project?' Cuomo said in 2015. 'I don't think we have to sacrifice the workers to have affordable housing. And I'm not going to give a lucrative giveaway for real estate developers and shortchange the taxpayers of this state.' The tax incentive eventually expired in early 2016 after REBNY and the trades were unable to strike a deal, and it was not revived until the next legislative session. Still, industry executives were largely satisfied with the version approved in Albany in 2017. Last year's housing deal in Albany revived that multi-family housing tax break again, but the industry was dissatisfied with the outcome, viewing its construction labor requirements as too costly. Cuomo recently made a point of echoing those concerns. In April, he criticized the latest version of 421-a, saying it 'doesn't work' and implying the reason is construction labor requirements loathed by industry bigwigs. '485-x, there are not enough new units coming online because it doesn't pencil out. It doesn't work economically. No one's building over 99 units. So that has to be addressed,' he told POLITICO, referencing wage rules that start kicking in for buildings above 99 units. Major developers, including Douglas Durst and Two Trees' Jed Walentas, had said they were pausing projects that would otherwise use the new tax break in light of the expanded wage requirements. Both those firms have given to Cuomo's super PAC. The aforementioned industry lobbyist called Cuomo's comments 'ironic,' since 'he basically established the floor for labor wages' in earlier fights around the program. 'He created that model with a labor floor when he negotiated the 421-a program,' the person noted, referencing the multi-year fight over the program during his tenure. Other industry insiders have expressed pleasure with Cuomo's latest comments, but remain skeptical he would actually take on construction unions in future efforts to reform the program. Part of that skepticism is rooted in his mayoral campaign's hiring of real estate industry antagonist Kevin Elkins, director for the carpenters union, as POLITICO reported. While opponents tag Cuomo as the candidate of Big Real Estate, interviews with developers, landlords and the lobbyists and consultants who work with them illustrate quiet reluctance around the former governor, even as they fall in line behind him. 'They are now supporting him by and large for one reason: fear, and it's fear of who else could be mayor, but it's also fear of him,' said one Democratic political consultant who works with developers, stressing Cuomo's infamous vindictiveness. 'A lot of the money that's going especially to the PAC, I would view it not so much as support, but protection money.' That person was granted anonymity to speak freely about Cuomo, as was a real estate industry source who voiced similar concerns. 'If you were to design a candidate in a vacuum (who's favorable to the industry), it wouldn't be Andrew, but given the field, I think he's emerged as the best option,' the latter person said. Cuomo's team declined to comment on any specific charges, instead providing a statement about his record. 'We need more housing in New York City period and New Yorkers know Andew Cuomo is the only candidate in this race who served as federal housing Secretary under President Clinton, launched a comprehensive program to finance 100,000 affordable housing units and 6,000 supportive housing units across New York as governor, and has the record and experience to build or preserve 500,000 new housing units when he becomes our mayor,' the statement read. The city's 1.4 percent rental vacancy rate — the lowest in more than 50 years — is pushing up housing prices. Mayors have significant power over rezonings, local land use, building regulations and the Rent Guidelines Board, which decides annually how much rents can go up for rent-regulated tenants. They also have a bully pulpit they can use to fight for legislation in Albany, where much of the city's housing policy is determined. The candidate polling second to Cuomo is Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has pledged to freeze rents and expressed skepticism about the private market's role in housing production. City Comptroller Brad Lander, a left-flank politician who has adopted a more moderate tone in the mayor's race, has long been a critic of tax breaks to the industry and fought the extension of 421-a when it expired in 2022. Lander and other candidates, such as his predecessor Scott Stringer and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, are backing a rent freeze this year by Eric Adams' Rent Guidelines Board but are not committing to one next year. Even state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, a mayoral candidate who has leaned heavily into market-driven development in his housing plan, recently joined calls for a freeze this year after previously declining to do so. Cuomo, by comparison, dismissed support for a rent freeze as a 'politically convenient posture' and said in his housing plan he would appoint members who 'make decisions based on the evidence.' Myrie was among a wave of Democratic legislators who swept into the Senate in 2018 and immediately began working on applying tenant-friendly measures to the rent-regulation system. That legislative session, the city's biggest landlords and developers viewed Cuomo as a sort of insurance against the most extreme changes being contemplated by a newly-empowered Legislature. The moderate governor, whose campaigns they had funded for years, would surely back them up and block the most objectionable reforms, they reasoned at the time. But Cuomo declined to do so, rebuffing top developers when they implored him to intervene. While lawmakers were never expected to open up the hard-fought housing deal this session, the industry is waiting for its moment to go back to Albany and push for changes. As mayor, Cuomo could help with that push — or is at least seen as more likely to do so than his opponents. 'Folks in this crowd and in this industry, they're very practical and very focused on the future,' said another real estate lobbyist who was granted anonymity to freely discuss the mayor's race. 'Cuomo's the only option.'
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
$3 billion Apex ‘mini-city' progresses despite looming Trump tariffs
Even as looming tariffs threaten to disrupt supply chains and blow up the budget, the developer of a massive mixed-use project in Apex is charging ahead. New York-based RXR is investing $166 million to improve the town's sewer infrastructure, laying the groundwork for its sprawling 'mini-city' Veridea on roughly 1,100 acres between U.S. Highway 1 and N.C. 540. In the same week the public works officially broke ground, President Donald Trump led a tit-for-tat trade war, imposing sweeping new duties on imports critical for construction like steel and aluminum. RXR executive vice president Joseph Graziose shrugged off concerns. 'Sure, tariffs will impact any project,' he said. 'But I've been in this [business] for 42 years. The economics are going to be what they're going to be. I'm less concerned about tariffs and more concerned about getting things moving.' As of Friday, the U.S. has imposed a 10% baseline tariff on all trading partners, announced new levies on all steel and aluminum imports, and doubled down on all Chinese imports, raising levies to a whopping 125%. It's also imposed a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico that are not compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The National Association of Home Builders estimates proposed new tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico could raise the cost of imported construction materials by 'up to $4 billion.' Even if some of the tariffs don't take effect, it's created uncertainty in the market, said Tyler Kelley, senior vice president at Samet Corp. The Greensboro-based firm is constructing Phase I of the $3 billion Veridea project. 'It's hard for us to navigate,' Kelley said. 'What our clients are looking for from us is cost certainty. And when we have a market that's volatile, how can I give [that]?' Samet is working on 20 large-scale residential projects across the state, including Veridea. Kelley said his team has been proactively purchasing materials in anticipation of tariffs. 'When we entered this project, we saw what was coming and we collaborated [with RXR],' he said. 'We identified products to get to site in advance. We're trying to bill ahead and keep our subcontractors' cash-flow positive.' To date, Veridea is on track. Work is expected to begin on multifamily units in late 2026, Kelley said. Veridea has been in the works since 2011. The property's previous owner, Hudson Realty Capital, began assembling the land 17 years ago. But it hit legal roadblocks and never got its project off the ground. RXR started scouting land in 2022 and eventually purchased multiple parcels for $91 million in March 2023, according to property records. The Triangle-shaped site sits along N.C. 55, about two miles south of downtown Apex, and about 15 miles southwest of Raleigh. RXR is working with the Town of Apex to develop the Big Branch Sewer Basin and improve drinking and waste water. The upgrades will pave the way for the project's first phase. That includes 1,500 multifamily units to be built by RXR and 1,100 single-family houses and townhomes to be developed by Lennar Corp. An entertainment district — with 200,000 square feet for retail, restaurants and office — and a new elementary school are also in the works. Separately, RXR has partnered with Wake Technical Community College to build a new 340,000-square-foot campus. On a muggy afternoon last Thursday, RXR celebrated the project's latest development with speeches, local favorite Mr. A's Beignets and a ceremonial 'manhole' signing. Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert even turned up in his Gold 32 boots. 'This has been a 16-year journey, and RXR is ready to make it happen,' Gilbert told the 30-strong gathered. 'Growing up here as a young man, I never thought I would see something to this magnitude. It will be transformitive.' As Apex's population swells to over 72,000, demand for housing remains at an all-time high. The town estimates that by 2030, more than 120,000 people could be living in this satellite town of Raleigh.
