BXP’s $2B Midtown Office Tower Reaches Major Milestone

A major REIT is advancing a half-leased Midtown trophy tower into a market starved for new space.

October 15, 2026

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BXP’s $2B Midtown Office Tower Reaches Major Milestone

Good morning. Midtown's office crunch is now shaping the skyline. BXP's $2B tower at 343 Madison has topped its podium and is signing tenants into a market with its lowest availability since before 2020.

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Market Snapshot

Most Active Neighborhood

By Deal Count

Sheepshead Bay — 6 sales

Properties Sold

All Asset Types

129

Transaction Volume

Sales Activity

$1.04B

Top Office Submarket

Avg Starting Rent

Hudson Yards

$158.50 / SF

Manhattan Office Rent

Avg Effective

$83.69 / SF

Office Rent Growth

YoY Change

+17.5%

*Office metrics courtesy of CompStak; data from 4/01/26 to 6/30/26. Sales metrics courtesy of Actovia; NYC properties reported sold during the week of 10/2/26 – 10/8/26.

Trophy Climb

BXP’s $2B Midtown Office Tower Reaches Major Milestone

343 Madison Ave | Courtesy of BXP

BXP's $2B development at 343 Madison Avenue has reached podium level and is signing tenants as it rises, a bet on Midtown's deepening shortage of new space.

By the numbers: The 46-story, 930,000 SF tower hit podium level with completion targeted for 2029, and BXP said in July it was about half pre-leased. The developer secured a $1.2B construction loan this summer led by Wells Fargo.

Who's signing: Law firm McDermott Will & Schulte and insurer Starr have reserved space, with the New York Post reporting asking rents near $200 per SF. Neither lease size was disclosed, and more deals will be critical to stabilizing the building.

Space runs short: Avison Young's Q3 report shows new direct Manhattan leases up 28% year over year at $99 per SF, with top rents reaching $375 per SF. Availability fell to 13.4%, the lowest since 2020.

Why it rises now: Trophy buildings average just 10.1% availability, and tenants are paying up for scarce new Class A space, as the record $375 per SF deal at 625 Madison showed. A major REIT advancing a half-leased tower signals confidence in that demand.

➥ THE TAKEAWAY

Leasing is the test: Advancing a half-leased trophy tower into a market this tight is a confident call, but the pace of lease announcements before the 2029 opening will decide how quickly 343 Madison stabilizes and throws off cash flow for BXP.

Around New York

➥ A new pied-à-terre tax hits wealthy out-of-town owners of $5M-plus condos twice, as the surcharge lands while residency audits strip the primary-home abatement from 10,000 apartments.

➥ NYCHA’s rent collection fell to 59.8% in fiscal 2026, a nine-point drop that tests whether the nation’s largest public landlord can keep funding operations.

➥ Brooklyn’s industry leaders split over the city’s Oct. 1 rent freeze and a Fulton Street retail revival, where the former Macy’s is becoming the BKX atrium and entertainment complex.

➥ A new Debt Demolisher amnesty lets owners clear old building fines at up to 75% off through Jan. 10, as the city chases $25M in otherwise unpaid penalties.

➥ Microsoft sued JLL over a 2023 forklift injury during its 122 Fifth Avenue build-out, claiming the brokerage never added it to the $10M liability coverage it had promised.

➥ AI tenants are powering leasing across Manhattan into the fourth quarter, CoStar reports, as scarce space keeps pushing office rents higher.

Follow the Money

MULTIFAMILYEAST VILLAGE SK Development and Kinsmen landed a $203.5M construction loan for a 184-unit mixed-income project at 50 Third Avenue, where vacancy sits near 2%.

CAPITALSTATEWIDE The New York State Common Retirement Fund committed $456.3M to real estate, including $300M to Artemis’s value-add Fund V and $150M to a Basis debt vehicle.

LOGISTICSNEW YORK The city is offering $5M in congestion-toll funds to pay businesses that shift truck deliveries to overnight hours and ease daytime gridlock.

OFFICEHUDSON YARDS Joe Moinian is advancing a 1.9M SF Class A tower at 3 Hudson Boulevard and is in talks with an anchor tenant to take half the building.

OFFICEMIDTOWN FIFA signed a seven-year, $4M lease for 5,000 SF at Trump Tower that current and former officials say it never intended to occupy, drawing fresh scrutiny.

OFFICEGRAND CENTRAL Marx Realty inked two new leases at its restacked 10 Grand Central tower, extending a steady run of deals at the Midtown building.

📈 CHART OF THE WEEK

Source: Marcus & Millichap

NYC industrial sales rose 26% year over year, with first-half 2026 activity reaching its strongest level since late 2022, driven largely by private investors and smaller deals under $5 million.