Related Looks to Recruit Polo Bar to 625 Madison
Jeff Blau’s recruitment pitch for office tenants at 625 Madison Avenue could include proximity to one of the most exclusive eateries in New York City.
Related Companies is in discussions to bring Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar to the Midtown Manhattan development, the Wall Street Journal reported. Details about the lease and the potential relocation from 1 East 55th Street were not disclosed.
Related’s interest in bringing the Polo Bar to 625 Madison places the office project in good company among developers looking to draw tenants with high-dollar amenities, including prestigious dining outposts.
“There are only a handful of restaurants that are on that same level as Polo Bar,” JLL’s Evan Margolin told the Journal. “Everybody knows it. Everybody wants to go there.”
Related purchased the site from SL Green in December 2023 for more than $600 million. That deal followed a decade-long saga that saw SL Green finally take back control of the Madison Avenue property from billionaire investor Ben Ashkenazy.
Related initially planned a mixed-use project combining residential, retail and hospitality components, but has more recently said it would deliver an office building to capitalize on demand for premium Manhattan workspaces.
The landlord is hoping to secure asking rents between $200 and $400 per square foot, which would pace Manhattan’s surging office market. Among incoming tenants are private equity firm General Atlantic, which is negotiating a 150,000-square-foot lease, and software investment firm Veritas, which is reportedly eyeing 90,000 square feet.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund took a commanding two-thirds stake in the planned 1,200-foot Manhattan skyscraper last year. The $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund had already invested approximately $200 million into the project at the time the stake deal was revealed.
The project is expected to wrap in the summer of 2029.
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