Gary Barnett’s Extell on development rampage in Manhattan

It’s been one helluva month for Gary Barnett’s Extell Development Company.

In the space of a few weeks, Extell:

• Nailed down $1.25 billion in financing for its 60-story tower called The Torch at 740 Eighth Ave. — AND signed a new Hyatt brand, StandardX, as its hotel anchor with 1,800 rooms
• Bought small buildings on Sixth and First Avenue, the latter after a long holdout struggle that stood in the way of an Extell project on East 86^th Street.
• Bought air rights to enable a larger supertall at 655 Madison Ave. than originally planned
• Nailed down a zoning bonus to enlarge a planned project at the former Wellington Hotel site on Seventh Avenue

Although Barnett has his critics among competitors who call his strategy “ruthless,” no developer can boast of so many Manhattan projects as diverse as Extell’s.

They include the International Gem Tower on West 47^th Street dedicated to the jewelry business; a nearly completed medical-facilities tower for the Hospital for Special Surgery on uptown First Avenue; and the Kimpton Era Hotel on West 48^th Street, which gave celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito his first Manhattan cooking stage in years.

Extell wasn’t a contract developer for them, as Larry Silverstein is doing for Amex at the World Trade Center. It owns the finished projects outright, albeit with partners.

The Torch represents  perhaps the most significant of the recent developments as the 1,067-foot-tall, 60-story tower reaches the 40-story mark. The finance deal reported by the Real Deal,  anchored by a $1.1 billion construction loan from a JP Morgan-led consortium, ensures completion in 2028 of the ODA Architecture-designed supertall that will feature observation platforms and a unique rooftop drop-tower ride.

The hotel will have the address of 255 W. 45^th St.

Back in March 2025, we first reported that Extell paid what Barnett called a “stupid price” of $175 million for 576 Fifth Ave. – a holdout in the way of Extell’s 570 Fifth, future home of an 80,000 square-foot, “big box” Ikea store and law firm Simpson Thacher.

Two weeks ago, he paid mere peanuts — $18 million – for 1190 Sixth Ave., an unattractive three-story structure on the western side of the same block. It  might or might not have something to do with 570 Fifth, either to provide more elbow room for it or as part of an air-rights strategy Extell is pursuing on Sixth Avenue.

We can only speculate as Barnett declined to comment on any aspect of this story.

Two weeks ago, Extell finally grabbed another property it long coveted  — the tenement at 1645 First Ave. – for $27.9 million. It paves the way for a planned, large apartment tower at the corner of East 86^th Street.

Extell previously demolished all the structures around the holdout, whose owners resisted Barnett’s offers for years.

Meanwhile, Extell bought air rights to 34 and 36 E. 61st St. for $34.9 million. The addresses are adjacent to Extell’s mixed-use supertall, for which excavation is underway, at 655 Madison Ave.

We first reported in 2022 that Extell bought the leasehold for the shuttered Wellington Hotel at 871 Seventh Ave.

Now, although Barnett hasn’t disclosed plans, he just landed a zoning bonus to help support a possible 1,130-foot tall cloudbuster. He obtained the bonus with plans to upgrade the nearby West 50^th Street subway station.

Finally, Extell showed the world what its planned 77 W. 67^th Street – to be the Upper West Side’s tallest building by far – will look like.

A construction sign revealed an 86-story giant of apartments and commercial space. It will tower over another Extell project next door, 50 W. 66^th St.

All in all, quite a day at the office for Gary Barnett.