The deal saw Extell pay US$175 million (approx. AUD $265 million) to South Korean firm Sae-A Trading Co., which had purchased the site in 2021 for US$101 million.
The newly combined site — now known as 570 Fifth Avenue — is the largest development footprint currently available in Midtown, according to Extell founder and CEO Gary Barnett.
“We paid a stupid price but it gives us the whole block, which is amazing,” Mr Barnett told the New York Post. “It’s the largest footprint available in midtown and maybe anywhere.”
Extell plans to build a 33-storey, 1.1 million square-foot (approx. 102,000 sqm) tower comprising commercial offices and a flagship IKEA superstore — the first ever in Manhattan.
Designed by architectural firm KPF, the building is expected to cost over US$1 billion (approx. AUD $1.5 billion), with delivery to tenants slated for 2028.
IKEA’s parent company, Ingka Investments, will own its 80,000 sq ft (7,430 sqm) portion of the tower outright and is partnering with Extell on the overall development.
Extell had long held the adjacent site at 574 Fifth Avenue and several neighbouring parcels, but the 576 Fifth lot had remained a holdout, delaying full realisation of Barnett’s vision.
Sae-A Trading demolished the original 12-storey diamond district building after acquiring it but never submitted redevelopment plans.
Without the 47th Street corner, Extell’s design would have had what Mr Barnett described as a “conspicuous missing tooth.”
With the site now complete, he confirmed that plans will be submitted to New York’s Department of Buildings to incorporate the corner.
Excavation work at the site is already well underway. Once complete, the tower will feature office floors ranging from 65,000 sq ft at the base to 27,000 sq ft near the top — a flexible configuration intended to attract a range of premium tenants.
