Midtown East Rezoning Could Spur Office Development

SL Green’s One Vanderbilt will provide about $220 million in transit improvements.   Credit: SL Green Realty Corp.

NEW YORK CITY—An ambitious plan to rezone a 78-block area within Midtown East—including properties surrounding Grand Central Terminal—has been released by the Department of City Planning. The proposed effort will be the subject of a public hearing next month.

DCP’s draft, showing the scope of work for an environmental impact statement on the “Greater East Midtown Rezoning” proposal calls for zoning changes that would allow the tallest new buildings in Midtown East to be developed near Grand Central Terminal. New as-of-right densities for the newly created East Midtown subdistrict that encompasses Grand Central call for higher permitted FARs (floor area ratios) near the terminal and other transit nodes in the area.