BXP Unveils NYC Skyscraper Design, Taps Leasing Agent

November 19, 2024

Brokerage Development Featured New York More News Northeast Office

The building will be a fully electric, zero-carbon workplace.

343 Madison is less than a block from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. *Image courtesy of Volley Studio*

BXP has chosen CBRE as its exclusive leasing agent for 343 Madison Avenue, the developer’s 950,000-square-foot office project that’s underway less than a block from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.

In fact, the 46-story tower will have direct access to Grand Central’s Madison Concourse between 44th and 45th streets.

The building was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox as a fully electric, zero-carbon workplace and will feature a hospitality-inspired amenity package. For starters, a double-height lounge and conference space on the 45th and 46th floors will include indoor and outdoor dining and collaboration spaces, with biophilic terraces overlooking Midtown Manhattan. Other amenities include a lobby café and bicycle storage with cabanas and showers.

CBRE’s brokerage team of Howard Fiddle, Peter Turchin, John Maher, Evan Haskell and Caroline Merck will lead the building’s leasing campaign.

343 Madison Avenue’s 40 workplace floors range from 27,500 square feet in the podium to 22,000 square feet in the high-rise. Among those are specialty floors with private terraces and increased ceiling heights that will let clients design a multi-functional workplace to accommodate a variety of work styles and space needs.

343 Madison was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox as a fully electric, zero-carbon workplace. *Image courtesy of Volley Studio*

In addition to a fully electric building design, the tower will feature zero on-site combustion and a high-efficiency direct outside air system. Its targeted sustainability certifications include LEED Platinum, Well Core, Energy Star 85+, Fitwel and WiredScore Platinum.

In the first phase of the 343 Madison Avenue development, construction recently began on a new accessible street entrance to the Long Island Rail Road’s Grand Central Madison Concourse at 45th Street and Madison Avenue.

Manhattan’s robust leasing activity

In July, CBRE, which had already been a decades-long tenant at 200 Park Ave., also known as the MetLife Building, extended its 180,000-square-foot lease into 2037. Further, the company assumed the responsibilities of exclusive leasing agent and property and asset manager for the owner, Irvine Co.

Manhattan’s Midtown submarket has the majority of the top office leases in the third quarter, according to a report from CBRE. These include Christie’s renewing 373,000 square feet at 20 Rockefeller Plaza, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP renewing and expanding for 316,000 square feet at 787 Seventh Ave., Ares Capital Corp. renewing and expanding for 307,000 square feet at 245 Park Ave. and Balyasny Asset Management renewing and expanding for 164,000 square feet at 767 Fifth Ave.

Overall, Midtown had seen 11.1 million square feet of leasing activity by the end of September, versus 7.9 million over the same period last year. The average availability was 17.4 percent.