BXP Lands Big Tenant At 343 Madison

BXP locked in a major tenant for its under-construction Midtown trophy tower.

Global investment and insurance firm Starr signed a roughly 275,000-square-foot lease at 343 Madison Avenue, BXP’s 46-story office tower rising above Grand Central Terminal, the firms announced. The 20-year deal gives Starr floors 16 through 27 and accounts for about 30 percent of the 930,000-square-foot building. The landlord did not disclose the asking rent.

The lease marks a big win for BXP, which started construction without a significant amount of the space pre-leased. Starr will use the space as its New York headquarters, expanding and relocating from another BXP building at 399 Park Avenue. The firm signed a lease in May for 49,000-square-feet at Silverstein Properties’ 1177 Sixth Avenue and will continue to occupy that space.

Cushman & Wakefield’s John Picco, Peter Van Duyne and Alex Lachmund represented Starr in the deal. A CBRE team including Peter Turchin, John Maher and Evan Haskell represented the landlord.

The Wall Street Journal reported in October that Starr was in agreement to lease roughly a third of the development, but neither company would comment. The deal is the latest sign that large tenants are willing to lock in long-term leases for Class A office space in core locations as New York’s office market continues to rebound post-pandemic.

The development of 343 Madison has been fraught with financial challenges. In September, BXP lowered its dividend by 30 percent to help pay for the $2 billion office tower, searching for $50 million in quarterly savings.

The development site of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s former headquarters suffered a blow last summer when Norges Bank backed out of a plan to be a 45 percent partner in the project.

Since then, BXP has been searching for a partner to pick up as much as half of the development cost. CEO Owen Thomas has said that BXP’s costs could drop to $500 million under that scenario.