Nov 17, 2025

Busy firm adds to development flurry with $36 million air rights acquisition By Larry Getlen November 17, 2025 1:10 pm Extell's Gary Barnett and St. Thomas Church. PHOTOS: Yvonne Albinowski/for Commercial Observer; David Espejo/Getty Images Given how much of the ground in Midtown Gary Barnett’s firm has purchased of late, it makes sense that it would turn its attention to buying the air. Barnett’s Extell Development will acquire 123,000 square feet of air rights over St. Thomas Church at 678 Fifth Avenue for $36 million. Crain’s New York Business was first to report the sale . The purchase was signed in August and disclosed in a court filing dated Nov. 13 — churches need the permission of the court for any sale related to real estate. It is unclear how the rights will be used. The church, a designated New York landmark, also uses the address 1 West 53rd Street. According to the filing, the church will use the proceeds to “enhance St. Thomas’s long-term financial health, and to further support its religious and charitable missions for generations to come.” The Episcopal church was completed in 1823. The filing notes that the church was “built entirely of stone according to medieval construction principles” and is “a masterpiece of the French High Gothic Revival style of ecclesiastical architecture.” The purchase is just one of many keeping Extell occupied of late. The company filed plans on Nov. 14 for a 58-unit, 230,914-square-foot residential building at 27 and 37 West 66th Street in Lincoln Square, according to PincusCo . The building will stand 25 stories and contain 58 residential units. Other projects on the way from Extell, as Commercial Observer recently reported , will include a collaboration with Ikea parent Ingka Investments on a 29-story office tower at 570 Fifth Avenue, a supertall residential tower at 77 West 66th Street that could rise up to 90 stories, a 71-story mixed-use tower at 871 Seventh Avenue, a supertall mixed-use skyscraper at 655 Madison Avenue, and a 70-story condominium at 50 West 66th Street that is not yet complete but has already sold a unit for $47 million. Representatives for Extell and St. Thomas did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Larry Getlen can be reached at lgetlen@commercialobserver.com . Keywords: