Airbnb, RXR are converting a portion of Rockefeller Center

Companies will convert 10 floors of 75 Rockefeller Plaza to residential space

From left: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, and RXR Realty CEO Scott Rechler (Credit:RXR Realty and Getty Images)
From left: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, and RXR Realty CEO Scott Rechler (Credit:RXR Realty and Getty Images)

Scott Rechler’s RXR Realty and Airbnb are partnering to convert 10 floors of 75 Rockefeller Plaza into residential space.

The companies hope to open the space in about a year, and the rooms will be located on the higher floors of the building, which stands 32 stories tall, according to the Wall Street Journal. RXR and Airbnb are also in talks to open a roughly 150-unit facility at 47 Hall Street in Brooklyn, which RXR has been converting into office space.

The space at Rockefeller Plaza will feature roughly 200 units for overnight stays. It will follow all city rules and be staffed by unionized labor to avoid some of the tension that has damaged Airbnb’s other expansion efforts in the city.

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The deal between Airbnb and RXR would be the first creation of a stand-alone Airbnb facility in a New York office building.

RXR leased 75 Rockefeller Plaza for 99 years in 2012 and has overhauled the building since then. The firm has leased a large amount of its space to standard office tenants but reserved upper floors on the building for potential hotel use.

Residential units at 75 Rockefeller will be included in the Airbnb system with other private homes, but they will not have the Airbnb brand. They will rather be named something tied to the building or neighborhood. [WSJ] – Eddie Small