A rendering of One Vanderbilt. 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.

“In the area immediately surrounding Grand Central Terminal, the as-of-right maximum density would be 27.0 FAR. This would be the highest as-of-right density allowance in the East Midtown Subdistrict, reflecting the DCP's planning policy of focusing density in areas with excellent access to transit,” the DCP states. In the areas east and west of Grand Central, the maximum FAR ranges from 27.0 to 18.0. Properties along Park Avenue would have a maximum FAR of 25.0. The zone change proposal would cover an area bounded by East 39th Street to the south, East 57th Street to the north, Second and Third avenues to the east and Fifth Avenue to the west.

Another key component of the zone change proposal would permit owners of under-built landmark sites within the new East Midtown subdistrict to transfer their unused development rights throughout the subdistrict.

A rezoning effort for Midtown East proposed during the administration of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was shelved in 2013. However, Mayor Bill de Blasio decided to once again tackle the district's zoning and established the East Midtown Steering Committee in May 2014. The committee, co-chaired by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and City Council Daniel Garodnick, issued its recommendations in a 90-page report in October 2015.

The draft scope of work released by the Department of City Planning earlier this week includes many of the committee's recommendations. The rezoning initiative is geared to addressing some of Midtown East's pressing problems, including aging commercial office buildings and restrictive zoning that has limited new office development. The report notes that only three new office buildings have been constructed in Midtown East since 2001.

In the report, the DCP states there are three new office developments underway or in the planning stages in Midtown East, including 425 Park Ave., 380 Madison Ave. and SL Green Realty Corp.'s One Vanderbilt, which provided approximately $220 million in transit improvements, a new public space and an on-site transit hall with connections to commuter rail, in exchange for bonus floor area.

The DCP expects the zone changes would fuel the development of approximately 16 new predominately office buildings in Midtown East concentrated along Madison Avenue between East 39th and 46th streets and around the Lexington Avenue/51^st/53^rd streets subway station. The department states in the scoping document that the zoning changes will result in a more limited number of developments are expected in the coming decades along Park Avenue and east of Grand Central Terminal.

A public scoping meeting will be held on the Greater East Midtown rezoning on Thursday, Sept. 22 in the Manhattan Municipal Building, mezzanine level at 1 Centre St. The public meeting will be held in two parts with the first session starting at 2 p.m. and the second starting at 6 p.m.

Instant Insights /

Midtown East Rezoning Could Spur Office Development

Related Stories

Recommended For You