About the Building

477 Madison Avenue is a 24-story, approximately 325,000-square-foot Class A office building located at the northeast corner of Madison Avenue and East 51st Street in Manhattan’s Plaza District. Completed in 1953, the building occupies a prominent Midtown location directly across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral and close to Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue. Its distinctive setback design creates a series of upper-floor terraces while providing numerous exposures and impressive views across Midtown.

Designed by Kahn & Jacobs, 477 Madison Avenue is characterized by a side-core configuration and flexible office floor plates ranging from approximately 5,000 to 19,000 square feet. The layout allows tenants to accommodate private-office-intensive installations as well as more open workplace configurations. Large windows provide substantial natural light, while the building’s setbacks create opportunities for private landscaped terraces overlooking St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the surrounding Midtown skyline.

The property underwent a major repositioning after RFR acquired the building in 2019. Working with MdeAS Architects, ownership modernized the property while preserving its mid-century architectural character. Improvements included a refreshed façade, new oversized windows, upgraded mechanical systems, renovated restrooms, redesigned outdoor areas with glass railings and landscaping, and improvements to the building lobby. The redevelopment was completed in 2021.

A significant component of the renovation was the creation of a dedicated tenant amenity center known as The Club House. The amenity program includes a fitness center with locker rooms and showers, wellness and yoga facilities, conference and meeting rooms, recreation space, a tenant lounge and a large catering pantry. Bicycle storage is also available. Throughout the building, approximately 15,000 square feet of outdoor terraces provide additional tenant space and take advantage of the property’s stepped architecture.

477 Madison Avenue also benefits from an unusually strong location within Midtown. St. Patrick’s Cathedral is immediately across East 51st Street, while Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue shopping, the Lotte New York Palace and numerous restaurants and hotels are within a few blocks. Grand Central Terminal is within walking distance, providing Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road connections in addition to extensive subway access. The E and M trains at Fifth Avenue–53rd Street are less than 500 feet away, with the 6 train at 51st Street and additional subway lines available throughout the surrounding Midtown corridor.

With its flexible floor plates, abundant natural light, landscaped terraces, extensive tenant amenities and extensively upgraded infrastructure, 477 Madison Avenue combines the scale and services of a modern Class A office building with the character of a boutique Madison Avenue property. Its location opposite St. Patrick’s Cathedral and near Rockefeller Center gives tenants a particularly recognizable address in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.