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Developer Related Cos. is in talks to bring Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar to the new Midtown Manhattan tower it is building—the latest sign that marquee restaurants have become an increasingly important weapon in the battle to fill trophy office buildings.
Polo Bar has emerged as one of New York’s most exclusive dining spots since clothing brand Ralph Lauren opened the doors in 2015, attracting celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, and the Kardashians. Known for its equestrian-inspired décor, the wood-paneled restaurant just off Fifth Avenue has become one of the city’s hardest tables to book.
Now, Related is close to luring Polo Bar four blocks north of its current location on East 55th Street to Madison Avenue, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Related broke ground earlier this year on a 53-story office tower it plans to build at 625 Madison Avenue. Related is scheduled to complete the tower in the summer of 2029.
The New York developer, best known for its sprawling Hudson Yards complex on Manhattan’s West Side, is trying to fill the Madison Avenue tower with hedge funds, private-equity firms and other deep-pocketed tenants willing to pay some of Manhattan’s highest office rents.
More than ever, landing a destination restaurant has become part of that strategy. Landlords increasingly see them as a critical branding tool that gives their tenants a coveted place to entertain and impress clients without leaving the building.
Other examples include One Vanderbilt, the 1,401-foot-tall office tower next to Grand Central Terminal where chef Daniel Boulud’s Le Pavillon helped attract such blue-chip tenants as Carlyle and TD Securities.
After spending hundreds of millions of dollars redeveloping the former Sony Building into a trophy office tower, Olayan Group signed Michelin-starred Cote Korean Steakhouse, another perennial fixture on the list of tough New York reservations to land.
“We knew we had to commit to the highest-caliber restaurant to validate the stature of the building,” said Mary Ann Tighe, the CBRE broker who led leasing at the tower.
For many of these landlords, the strategy has paid off. The buildings that have attracted signature restaurants are also among the small group of Manhattan towers pushing office rents to record levels.
Related is seeking rents exceeding $200 to $400 a square foot for the upper floors of 625 Madison, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. Average Midtown office rentals are around $85 a square foot. The developer is close to finalizing a roughly 150,000-square-foot lease with private-equity firm General Atlantic as the anchor tenant and is in talks with software investment firm Veritas for about 90,000 square feet, according to people familiar with the matter.
Manhattan landlords are able to reach for high rents because New York has emerged as the country’s strongest office market. Leasing activity totaled 7.88 million square feet in the second quarter this year, 24% above its five-year quarterly average. The availability rate fell to 14.4%, according to CBRE.
The city has benefited from an influx of AI companies and a concentration of finance and law firms that are demanding employees spend more time in the office. Its extensive public-transit network also has made commuting easier than in most U.S. cities, helping office attendance rebound.
Not every landlord is benefiting equally. Tenants are increasingly gravitating to buildings with ample amenities like gyms and rooftop terraces while more ordinary office buildings continue to struggle.
For landlords, the restaurant is part of the sales pitch. “There are only a handful of restaurants that are on that same level as Polo Bar,” said Evan Margolin, vice chairman of real-estate services firm JLL. “Everybody knows it. Everybody wants to go there. So, to say, ‘Hey, I’m in the Polo Bar building.’ I think that’s pretty cool.”
Write to Peter Grant at [email protected]