Demolition Begins at Future Site of 350 Park Avenue Skyscraper
Scaffolding now surrounds much of the Midtown East block as crews prepare the site for a 64-story office tower expected to house about 6,000 workers. Companies headed by New York City-bashing billionaire Ken Griffin are slated to take up nearly half the office space.
| 09 Jul 2026 | 02:27
Half of the block cornered by Park Avenue and East 51st street is now covered in blue netting as demolition for 350 Park Avenue begins. Rendering of skyscraper inset. (
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Half of the block cornered by Park Avenue and East 51st street is now covered in blue netting as demolition for 350 Park Avenue begins. (
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A closer look at the work done so far, including some window and wall panels being removed. (
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Limited views into the site suggest that interior demolition, in addition to window paneling, is also underway. (
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Limited views into the site suggest that interior demolition, in addition to window paneling, is also underway. (
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Another view of the site at 350 Park Ave. (
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Top: 350 Park Avenue from afar, proposed. Bottom: 350 Park Avenue from afar, currently. (
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Top: Park Avenue and East 52nd Street corner, proposed. Bottom: Park Avenue and East 52nd Street corner, current. (
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Top: Public concourse along East 51st Street and Park Avenue, proposed. Bottom: East 51st Street and Park Avenue, current. (
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Slide nine of the developer slide deck breaks down the finances and air rights associated with the construction and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, St. Bartholomew’s Church, and the Public Realm Improvement Fund. (
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A screengrab from Mamdani’s video, in which he stands in front of and gestures up at Ken Griffin’s penthouse while announcing his new pied-à-terre tax on luxury secondary homes. (
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Demolition crews have moved onto the 350 Park Avenue site as work begins on the $4.5 billion project that will eventually become a 1,414-foot office skyscraper in Midtown East.
Nearly half the block between East 51st and 52nd Streets along Park Avenue is now scaffolded. Signs indicate Waldorf Demolition as general contractor, and that the demolition’s anticipated completion date lands somewhere in March 2027. The completion date for the entire project won’t be until six years down the road, sometime in 2032.
The mega office tower project is being developed by Vornado Realty Trust, Rudin Management, and hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin at Citadel, and will eventually comprise 1.8 million square feet stretching over 64 stories with a capacity of 6,000 employees.
The project is proceeding even though Griffin has publicly soured on New York City in recent months due to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s push to increase taxes on the rich. Mamdani announced the city’s first ever pied-à-tierre tax in a video; the tax is an annual fee on luxury properties worth over $5 million whose owners don’t live in the city full-time. In the video, the mayor uses Griffin’s $238 million penthouse as an example, standing in front of the building and naming the billionaire explicitly. The video angered Griffin, who later said he plans to “double down” on Citadel’s operations in Miami over New York.
Despite that, the development of the mega project, where Griffin’s Citadel actually bought a 60 percent stake, is proceeding apace. If Griffin is serious about distancing himself from New York City, it won’t be easy. Griffin’s companies, Citadel and Citadel Securities, have also been advertised as anchor tenants set to occupy at least 850,000 square feet, or nearly half of the office space in the tower.
The developers were able to build upward because it had snapped up the air rights from two nearby cathedrals costing a combined $150 million. It purchased the air rights to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for $98.4 million in December 2023 and three months later, snapped up air rights for St. Bartholomew’s Church for $53.3 million, according to the slide deck on the project. As part of its deal with the city, the tower owners will also contribute over $30 million to the city’s East Midtown Public Realm Improvement Fund.
The three existing structures on the city block that Vornado paid $1.2 billlion to acquire includes three buildings: a midcentury 30-story office building at 350 Park Ave., a 1980s 23-story office building at 40 E. 52nd St., and a five-story building at 39 E. 51st St.
The New York City Council approved the special zoning permits that 350 Park Avenue’s construction required on Sept. 25, 2025, following the project’s completion of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which solicits community input for changes to land use laws. That procedure began about six months earlier, in March 2025.
The developers’ slide deck, listed as the fourth attachment in the City Council records on the project, provides an overview, including the requested permits, financial contributions, and images.
Included in the slide deck is the developers’ plan for a public concourse along Park Avenue to complement the skyscraper. Plans call for widened sidewalks, open corners, restaurants and cafés, seating areas, and trees and landscaping, marketed as improving pedestrian circulation and enhancing the natural environment.