Macy’s Weighs Building An Office Tower Above Iconic 34th Street Store

Macy’s is considering building an office tower atop its flagship Manhattan store on 34th Street in a bid to squeeze out more profit from the site.

The company has met with New York City officials about a proposed 1.2M SF tower in Herald Square that would be leased out to other office tenants, Bloomberg reports. The retailer didn't comment on the report, but a spokesperson for Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer confirmed that she had met with the company and discussed the idea last month.

“Such a major addition of square footage to the area will require major public improvements to the streets and sidewalks that surround the Herald Square neighborhood, and I look forward to Macy’s contributions to ensure that this part of Midtown and the Garment Center sees relief,” Brewer told Bloomberg in a statement.

Macy’s could push for a zoning change that would allow for greater density at the site. Macy’s CEO Jeffrey Gennette told investors earlier this year that the company was examining ways to make use of the real estate value of the building.

“Over the last year and a half, we have been working closely with a team of land-use, development and design experts to produce a menu of economically viable redevelopment alternatives,” Gennette said on the company's earnings call. “These could densify the real estate with complementary uses and will certainly preserve the store and enhance the customer experience.”

Macy's and Brookfield — with which the company formed a collaboration in 2016 — are planning to develop several new buildings on areas of the parking lot at the store's Hawthorn Mall location in the Chicago suburb of Vernon Hills.

It's unclear if Brookfield would be involved in the Herald Square project, but Brookfield is moving full-steam ahead on bringing a mix of uses to outdated retail properties as it mulls what to do with the mall properties it acquired when it bought GGP last year.