With all of the noise surrounding Paramount Global these days, the redevelopment of its CBS Broadcast Center in Midtown Manhattan has flown under the radar.
The media conglomerate identified three developers as finalists to lead the project at 524 West 57th Street, Bisnow reported. The fate of the property has been up in the air as Paramount pursues a merger with Skydance, which was approved by the FCC on Thursday.
One finalist is New York City-based Gotham Organization. The developer has experience with the city’s rezoning process and led large-scale redevelopments in Long Island City, the Lower East Side and Hudson Yards.
Another finalist is Dallas-based Lincoln Property Company. While thin on experience in New York City, the national developer has been behind major projects such as Seaport Circle in Boston and The Star in Frisco, Texas, which is the headquarters for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
The identity of the third finalist was not disclosed.
The redevelopment process for the 161,000-square-foot property kicked off in 2023. Paramount was on the hunt for minority partners to transform the site into as much as 1.1 million square feet of development, contingent on a rezoning. Specific plans for the site remain unclear.
The selection process for the full-block property between 10th and 11th Avenue between West 56th and 57th streets has dragged along for two years. The latest revelation is expected to be part of the final round of that process and the merger approval is expected to ramp up discussions around the property.
Paramount is expected to relocate its studio operations away from the nine-building complex, but hasn’t shared that location yet.
CBRE’s Doug Middleton and Eric Negrin are spearheading the bidding process.
Paramount’s made significant real estate moves in Manhattan since the pandemic. Two years ago, it renewed a lease for 186,000 square feet at SL Green’s 555 West 57th Street, which is across the street from its studio operations.
In 2021, it sold Black Rock, its 38-story office tower at 51 West 52nd Street, to Harbor Group International for $760 million. The media conglomerate, then known as ViacomCBS, occupied about one-third of the building at the time.
Read more
ViacomCBS sells Black Rock building to Harbor Group for $760M
CBS mulls sale of Midtown broadcast center
Paramount Global puts 355K sf up for sublease
