- General Atlantic will anchor Related Companies’ 625 Madison Avenue with a long-term lease spanning more than 150,000 square feet across five floors for its New York headquarters.
- The 53-story tower, rising in the Plaza District near the Plaza Hotel, is slated to open in 2029 and has also reportedly drawn a 92,743-square-foot lease from Veritas Capital.
- The deal lands as Manhattan office leasing runs nearly 10% ahead of last year’s pace, reinforcing landlords’ bet that top-tier new construction can still command premium tenants.
Related Companies has landed an anchor tenant for its under-construction office tower at 625 Madison Avenue, the developer announced Tuesday, according to Commercial Observer. General Atlantic, a global investment firm, signed a long-term lease for more than 150,000 square feet across five floors at the planned 53-story tower in Manhattan’s Plaza District. The firm will relocate more than 330 New York-based employees, about a third of its global workforce, when the building opens in 2029.
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A Vote of Confidence in an Unbuilt Tower
The commitment is notable for a tower that’s leaned heavily on outside capital and won’t deliver for years. Related broke ground on 625 Madison in July 2026, replacing a 10-story building dating to 1930 between East 58th and East 59th Streets, two blocks from the Plaza Hotel. In July 2025, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund took a two-thirds stake in the roughly $1 billion project, after already contributing about $200 million toward construction. “General Atlantic has always taken a long-term view, and our new headquarters is an investment in the firm’s future,” Bill Ford, the firm’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
Inside the 625 Madison Deal
General Atlantic didn’t disclose the length of its lease or the asking rent, though Class A office space in the Plaza District averaged $97.23 per square foot in the second quarter of 2026, according to Colliers. The 680-foot tower is designed with a sixth-floor club lounge featuring a 200-plus-person multipurpose room, a private dining room, and wraparound outdoor terraces, plus ground-floor retail that Related is reportedly eyeing for a Ralph Lauren Polo Bar location. Related also appears to have landed a second tenant: private equity firm Veritas Capital signed for 92,743 square feet at the building in August, per Colliers’ Manhattan office snapshot, though neither side has confirmed the deal.
Related CEO Jeff Blau said General Atlantic was “exactly the kind of prestigious and ambitious firm we had in mind as an anchor tenant because of the value they place on investment and operational excellence, collaboration and long-term relationships,” adding that “this will be a building of industry leaders.” Spokespeople for Veritas and Related have not confirmed that reported second lease.
Zooming Out
The lease lands as Manhattan’s office market shows continued strength despite a seasonal dip: leasing activity fell to 3.25 million square feet in August, down from 3.9 million in July. Large anchor commitments have defined this cycle, with financial and investment firms favoring new or heavily amenitized towers over aging stock even as they pay up to do it. Colliers’ Franklin Wallach noted that year-to-date demand is running nearly 10% ahead of 2025’s pace, putting Manhattan on track for its strongest leasing year since 2000.
Why It Matters
For Related, locking in a marquee tenant five years before delivery derisks a roughly $1 billion project built alongside Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and it signals that well-capitalized tenants are still willing to commit early to trophy space. That confidence has helped Manhattan’s newest office towers lease up faster than the broader market, even as older, amenity-poor buildings continue to struggle with vacancy. It also underscores how sovereign capital is underwriting a wave of speculative Manhattan office construction that would be difficult to finance without an anchor tenant already lined up.
What’s Next
Related has not named the brokers behind the General Atlantic lease, and terms including rent and lease length remain undisclosed. With four more years until 625 Madison delivers, watch for additional anchor announcements, including possible confirmation of the reported Veritas Capital deal, as Related works to fill the tower’s remaining floors. A confirmed Ralph Lauren Polo Bar lease at the ground-floor retail would give the project another marquee name to point to as it courts additional office tenants.
