RFR files to demolish retail next to Chrysler Building to make way for new development

RFR Holding filed plans to demolish 145 East 42nd Street, a two story, 15,000-square-foot retail building just east of the Chrysler Building, on April 30, 2026, through job number M01380470. It’s the second building on the block RFR Holding has filed to take down. The other is 155 East 42nd Street, just east of 145 East 42nd Street. The plans, M01301685, to raze that building were filed December 19, 2025, and have been approved by the city but not yet permitted.
No new building plans have been filed for either parcel.

RFR was marketing these two parcels as either an office building development (but removed that link from its website) or as a smaller retail development, but that has also been removed from the Mona website. Mona had marketed it as, “A once-in-a-generation opportunity at a custom-built retail flagship in the heart of Manhattan. With up to 100,000 SF of fully developable space and 153 feet of 42nd Street frontage, this isn’t just a location—it’s a statement.”

RFR Holding lost its leasehold on the Chrysler Building but retained ownership of these two properties which it owns in fee.

The property

The retail building in Grand Central has 10,721 square feet of built space and 26,514 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 37,240 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 52 feet and is 81 feet deep with a total lot size of 3,724 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C5-3 which allows for up to 15 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $9.9 million.

Prior sales, articles and revenue

This property was sold with another property for $75.5 million on April 5, 2019.

The 10,721-square-foot property generated revenue of $1.1 million or $106 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

Development

Over the past five years, there has been no NYC Department of Buildings new building, demolition, or alteration permit application valued at more than $20,000 filed for this parcel.

Violations and lawsuits

According to city public data, the property has not received any significant violations in the last year.

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months.

The neighborhood

In Grand Central, The majority, or 83 percent of the 44.4 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 8 percent of the space. In sales, Grand Central has the 4th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $2.3 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Grand Central is the 5th most active neighborhood among other neighborhoods. It had 12 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 27 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of two of the four commercial properties representing 1,701,683 square feet of the 1,734,314 square feet. The two identified owners are Cooper Union and Tishman Speyer. There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The surrounding

Within a 400-foot radius of 147 East 42 Street, PincusCo identified eight commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months. Of those eight items, three were for major renovation including a certificate of occupancy change. They were three permit applications with a total initial cost of $40.6 million. The most recent of these three items was the filing on April 20, 2026 for a 422,046-square-foot 56 building with 25 residential units at 205 East 42nd Street. Of those eight items, two were sales above $5 million totaling $109.3 million. The most recent of the two was Mount Sinai which bought one condo unit in the 30,519-square-foot, 55-unit mixed-use building (RC) on 150 East 42nd Street for $9 million from 601W Companies on December 2, 2025. Of those eight items, three were loans above $5 million totaling $525.4 million. The most recent of the three was Mount Sinai in which borrowed $7.9 million from 601W Companies secured by one condo unit in the 30,519-square-foot, 55-unit mixed-use building (RC) on 150 East 42nd Street on December 2, 2025.

Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page
Direct link to the property’s ACRIS page and link to DOB NOW portal.