One Madison Avenue’s Tower Expansion Begins Steel Assembly in Flatiron District, Manhattan

One Madison Avenue. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox.

Construction is rising on One Madison Avenue, a 27-story commercial expansion in the Flatiron District. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and developed by SL Green, the National Pension Service of Korea, and Hines, the project involves the gut renovation and expansion of a former eight-story structure and will yield 1.4 million square feet of office space. AECOM Tishman is the general contractor for the property, which occupies a full block bound by East 23rd and 24th Streets and Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South.

At the time of our last update in mid-June, the core for the tower expansion was just beginning to rise above the gutted podium. Since then, the reinforced concrete volume has risen steadily as work on the surrounding steel frame has begun to take shape. Based on the pace of progress, the core should top out before the end of the year, with the framing following shortly behind.

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

The following photos from the corner of Madison Avenue and East 23rd Street show the steel columns and beams going up around the concrete core, with the landmark Metropolitan Life Tower in the background.

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

Two tower cranes are busily hoisting steel into place for the tower’s frame. Nearly all of the new windows are in place on the lower floors, arranged in a grid of vertical columns.

One Madison Avenue. Photo by Michael Young

The new tower will yield 530,000 square feet with floor plates spanning up to 35,000 square feet each. The glass curtain wall will provide occupants with abundant natural light and panoramic views of Madison Square Park, the Flatiron Building, and the surrounding neighborhood. The tenth and 11th floors will feature 22-foot ceiling spans and provide access to an open-air rooftop deck. Additional outdoor terraces will sit atop the podium between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South.

Office amenities at One Madison Avenue include a 15,000-square-foot artisanal food market, a 9,000-square-foot tenant lounge, a three-level fitness center, bicycle storage, and a 13,000-square-foot high-tech event space with a capacity of 800 people. The closest subways from the property are the R and W trains at the 23rd Street station to the west along Broadway, and the local 6 train to the west along Park Avenue South. It was last announced that IBM has signed on as the anchor tenant with plans to occupy 328,000 square feet across five floors.

One Madison Avenue is slated for completion by the end of November 2023.

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9 Comments on "One Madison Avenue’s Tower Expansion Begins Steel Assembly in Flatiron District, Manhattan"

  1. Another Glass Box on a Concrete Base.

    • I disagree, think this is an instance where the clean glass box is successful. Nice juxtaposition with the existing stone and lets the clock tower continue to be the star. Nice work.

      • If the Glass Box continued in the classic style of what was already there then it would make sense as an ensemble with the clock tower and the 1940s additions. Unfortunately glass boxes with very few exceptions have not aged well in too many projects.

        • I think this is a marvelous 21st addition to a 20th century building that had been essentially rendered obsolete. It brings it up to modern standards in a most attractive way. I’m glad they were able to do this. A continuation of the existing design wouldn’t have been as interesting as this juxtaposition. Obviously IBM and Franklin Templeton feel the same. This building is largely pre-leased.

  2. The building one block up is still ‘waiting’ for its tower addition. I believe it was originally planned to be the tallest in the city.

  3. An interesting fact is that the Metropolitan Life Tower is a “modern” reinterpretation of the iconic bell tower (campanile) in Piazza San Marco in Venice. It is, however, twice as tall as the original. While this tower was under construction, the Venetian tower famously collapsed in a pile of rubble and had to be rebuilt.

    • Did not know that—super interesting! Kirkland Hall at Vanderbilt University is also modeled on St. Mark’s campanile, and doubtlessly many others!

  4. Couldn’t they have come up with something in limestone?

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