Tishman Speyer Lists 6 Grand Central for $450M, $584/SF

Tishman Speyer has listed 6 Grand Central, the 770,386-square-foot office tower at Third Avenue and East 42nd Street, for roughly $450 million, about $584 a square foot, according to Commercial Observer. Eastdil Secured’s Gary Phillips and Will Silverman are marketing the fee simple interest. The Real Deal also reported the listing, framing it as the latest in a string of office dispositions for the firm.

Why it matters

An asking price is a bet, not a print, but this one carries information because Tishman Speyer just set its own comp. The firm closed the sale of CitySpire, a smaller Plaza District office building, in late May at a fraction of what it now wants for 6 Grand Central. Landlords do not usually publish two data points on their own pricing power in the same year by accident. Tishman Speyer is testing whether direct Grand Central Terminal access, a 2022 gut renovation and a 2024 rebrand can command trophy pricing in a market where most office debt and equity has been priced for distress. If buyers bite anywhere near the ask, it resets the ceiling for renovated, transit-connected towers nationally, not just in Midtown.

The numbers

The $450 million ask on 770,386 square feet works out to about $584 a square foot. Tishman Speyer bought the building, then known as 666 Third Avenue, in 1998, and tried to sell it once before, in 2019, without a deal. Its most recent completed office sale is the better yardstick: CitySpire at 156 West 56th Street, sold with partner GIC to DelShah Capital, A.M. Property Holding and REALM, closed in late May at $137.5 million for 377,500 square feet, or roughly $364 a square foot, per Commercial Observer’s financing coverage. The $584 ask on 6 Grand Central runs about 60% above that basis. The two buildings are not identical, CitySpire is a smaller Plaza District tower with a mixed office-condo structure, while 6 Grand Central is a full trophy floor plate with terminal access, but the gap is still the sharpest available read on what Tishman Speyer believes transit connectivity and a recent renovation are worth over ordinary Class A stock.

What’s next

VanEck, which signed a 10-year, 53,333-square-foot renewal at 6 Grand Central in 2024, anchors the rent roll alongside the Consulate General of the Netherlands and Mintz Levin. Whether Eastdil finds a buyer near $584 a square foot, or the deal ultimately clears closer to the CitySpire basis, will tell developers and capital allocators more about the real ceiling on trophy office than either listing did on its own. Track more office repricing on our New York market hub.