St. Patrick’s Cathedral Air Rights Fetch $325/sf
Co-developers Vornado Realty Trust and Rudin Management, along with Citadel’s Ken Griffin have agreed to purchase air rights above St. Patrick’s Cathedral from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese on New York. The contract enables the development team to buy up to 525,000 square feet of unused development rights at $312.50 per square foot and includes the requirement to contribute $62.50 per square foot to the Public Realm Improvement Fund. Pending needs for a planned 51-story tower at 350 Park Avenue, the purchase could range from $98.4 million up to $164 million, with annual options to take more air rights and a deadline to take the full 525,000 square feet at the end of 2026. Renderings revealed in January 2023 depict a proposed 1,350-foot-tall commercial tower yielding 1.7 million square feet of office space, of which Citadel is slated to occupy roughly 54 percent. If plans proceed as proposed, both the Vornado-owned building at 350 Park Avenue and the Rudin-owned 40 East 52nd Street would be demolished to make way for new construction.