MTA puts 350,000 square feet of air rights in Lower Manhattan up for sale
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is selling over 300,000 square feet of landmarked air rights in Lower Manhattan. As first reported by The Real Deal, the MTA issued a request for proposals (RFP) on Friday seeking a buyer for up to 350,000 square feet of air rights tied to the Fulton Center and the neighboring Corbin Building. Buyers must acquire the rights either through City Planning Commission certification or a zoning lot merger with an adjacent property.
The Fulton Center transit hub shares a zoning lot with the Corbin Building, a terracotta-clad office structure completed in 1889 and landmarked in 2015. Together, the two properties are underbuilt by 358,000 square feet, 8,000 of which the MTA plans to retain for “future flexibility.”
According to the RFP, offers won’t be accepted from buyers whose plans require a special permit or other land-use approval. However, “City of Yes” has expanded eligibility, easing rules on where landmarked air rights can be transferred and allowing many of these deals to proceed without the special permit process.
Thanks to these changes, the square footage can now be transferred to sites across the street or on the same block as the Fulton Center without requiring a special permit, provided the transfer doesn’t increase the receiving site’s allowable square footage by more than 30 percent. Transfers that would create larger projects still require a special permit and must undergo the city’s uniform land-use review procedure.
Prospective bidders must offer at least fair value, determined by an independent MTA appraiser, to be considered. Responses to the RFP are due by March 16, 2026.
Landmarked air rights have become a sought-after real estate commodity under Mayor Eric Adams’ “City of Yes” housing plan, allowing landmarked buildings to sell unused air rights to a broader range of neighboring properties, according to CRE Daily. Manhattan has seen the largest spike in these deals, as the borough is home to more than 1,200 landmarked properties.
According to The Real Deal, landmarked air rights have been selling for between $180 and $400 per square foot. Sales are on pace to increase by 39 percent this year, bringing prices to their highest levels since 2016.
In November, Extell Development purchased $36 million worth of air rights from the landmarked St. Thomas Church at 678 Fifth Avenue. While it remains unclear which project Extell intends to use the 123,000 square feet of air rights for, the company is expected to either hold them for a future development or sell them to another developer as a temporary investment.
Similarly, in August, Extell purchased $7.7 million worth of air rights from the landmarked Gage & Tollner restaurant at 372–374 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Valued at $250 per square foot, the air rights will be applied to a 363-unit, 443,418-square-foot development at 356 Fulton Street, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
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