Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Macy's Will Build Skyscraper On Top Of Herald Square Flagship
By
Jen Chung
Published May 15, 2019
Modified May 16, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Shutterstock
By
Jen Chung
Published May 15, 2019
Modified May 16, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Its first quarter earnings were stronger than expected, and retailing behemoth Macy's is looking to capitalize even more with its valuable real estate. The company has confirmed an April Bloomberg News story that said Macy's was looking to build an office tower on top of its iconic Herald Square flagship location.
"We hope to walk out of 2019 with a plan that we’re then going to bid out," Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette told Bloomberg, adding this has been in the works for a year and a half.
Traditional retailers have been facing headwinds, like online sellers and fast retailing, and Macy's has responded by both closing stores and attempting to innovate, creating a new format of stores, called "magnet stores." But one retail industry observer told the Wall Street Journal, "The other [traditional] stores are dispiriting and crammed with stock. That is the issue that Macy’s has got to get to grips with."
(Shutterstock)
According to the original Bloomberg News story, "The company has floated plans for a 1.2 million-square-foot (111,500-square-meter) office tower that would be used by other tenants, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Macy’s probably would push for zoning changes around its property to allow for the 800-foot (244-meter) building, which would bring an estimated 6,000 additional people to the area, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The plans are exploratory and may change."
Macy's has apparently been talking to NYC officials about the plan as well. Two years ago, Macy's floated the idea of adding a roof deck to the Herald Square store to increase foot traffic. At the time, a Macy's real estate executive said that others in the real estate industry told them constantly, "We love this piece of real estate, how do we get a piece of it?"
Lord & Taylor's former New York City landmark building closed last year and is now a WeWork.
Fun fact: The shopping bag at the corner of Macy's Herald Square store was (is?) originally a "spite building". Ephemeral New York had explained eight years ago, "Macy’s had a verbal agreement to buy a plot at the corner of 34th and Broadway. But an agent acting on behalf of rival department store Siegel-Cooper scored the plot instead. Reportedly the agent wanted Macy’s to give Siegel-Cooper its 14th Street store in exchange for the land at 34th Street. But Macy’s wouldn’t have it. The store was built around the plot."
Tagged
herald square
macy's
real estate
retail
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man arrested in Coney Island mass shooting that wounded 8, including 4 children
A 21-year-old woman remains in critical condition.
By
Charles Lane
Published Jul 8, 2026 at 8:32 p.m. ET
NYC job alert: City seeks BQE czar to rebuild ramshackle triple-cantilever
Mayor Zohran Mamdani's transportation commissioner has vowed to fix a crumbling section of the stacked highway that's bedeviled city planners for a decade.
By
Stephen Nessen
News
NYC job alert: City seeks BQE czar to rebuild ramshackle triple-cantilever
Mayor Zohran Mamdani's transportation commissioner has vowed to fix a crumbling section of the stacked highway that's bedeviled city planners for a decade.
By
Stephen Nessen
Self-storage giant Extra Space must pay back NYC users for rat-infested units, price hikes
By
Brigid Bergin
Extra Extra: Hot market for pieces of trash collected outside Taylor Swift's wedding
By
James Ramsay
What a welcome to NYC: Hampton Inn guests scramble as neighboring tower goes wobbly
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .