Ground broken for American Express tower at Two World Trade Center as demolition starts on new Midtown skyscraper

Ground was broken for the new American Express tower at Two World Trade Center, New York Post reported. Mayor Zohran Mamdani attended the ceremony and wielded a shovel alongside executives from American Express, Silverstein Properties and the Port Authority. Mamdani stated, “I am proud to welcome American Express’s new global headquarters to Lower Manhattan.

Full-scale demolition began at the same time for the 1,414-foot skyscraper at 350 Park Avenue developed by Vornado, Rudin and Ken Griffin, New York Post reported. Griffin holds a nearly 1-million-square-foot lease commitment for two Citadel companies at the project. Airbnb purchased the building at 281 Park Avenue South for $81.

The property was originally owned by a Protestant church organization, acquired by Aby Rosen’s RFR in 2014 and leased to Sweden’s Fotografiska museum from 2019 to 2024. Rosen received 63 percent more on the sale than he paid for the building. Rosen stated, “Great buildings reward great stewardship.

We bought 281 Park Ave. ” Separate surveys placed overall Manhattan office vacancy between 13 percent and 19.3 percent in the second quarter. JLL reported 13.5 percent, CBRE 14.4 percent, Newmark 14.3 percent, Colliers 13.4 percent and CoStar 13 percent.

Cushman & Wakefield reported 19.3 percent, down from 22.6 percent one year earlier. Cushman & Wakefield vice-president Garrett Derderian said the firm keeps leased availability in its statistics until the tenant is presumed to physically occupy the space to avoid double-counting occupancy.