Extell Acquires Air Rights to Possibly Expand Scope of 655 Madison Avenue

Extell Development’s buying spree in Manhattan shows no signs of waning after the Gary Barnett-led firm bought additional air rights in Manhattan’s Lenox Hill neighborhood on the Upper East Side.

Extell paid a total of $34.9 million to Hartz Mountain Industries for the air rights attached to 36 East 61st Street and 34 East 61st Street to add some development potential to its supertall project at 655 Madison Avenue, according to Tuesday filings in property records.

The 74-story mixed-use tower at the corner of Madison Avenue and East 60th Street is slated to have 154 condominium units and 233,000 square feet of office and retail space on ground floors, with Chanel as a potential tenant.

Extell and Hartz Mountain did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Extell purchased the tower site ​​for $160 million from Williams Equities in 2024, and Barnett has been clearing a path through adjacent sites to make way for the Madison Avenue project. He bought 33-39 East 60th Street for $103 million in March 2025, followed by a $39.9 million transaction with private social club Metropolitan Club to transfer 135,146 square feet of air rights from 1 East 60th Street in February of this year.

This week alone, three of Barnett’s deals for smaller properties have been made public, showcasing how busy the developer is in his plans for projects across Manhattan.

On Monday, a deed filing in property records indicated that Barnett paid Jay and Stuart Podolsky of Amsterdam Hospitality Group $27.9 million to purchase 1645 First Avenue to potentially build a 542-unit housing project on the vacant site that Extell filed plans for in 2021.

The same day, Extell filed a deed showing that it spent $18 million on a four-story commercial building at 1190 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown owned by Lighthouse Properties and Solil Management. The building is currently leased to a souvenir shop.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.