Rolex’s watches are timeless, but its New York headquarters is not.
The luxury watch company filed an application with the New York’s Department of Buildings to begin demolishing its 1970s-era, 12-story headquarters at 665 Fifth Avenue. The Swiss company is partnering with architect David Chipperfield to build a 25-story office tower in its place.
Chipperfield was selected to design the Midtown building in 2019. Renderings from March 2020 depict a modern-looking, 155,800-square-foot office building that resembles five glass boxes stacked on top of each other. It will house Rolex’s offices as well as a ground-level retail store.
Rolex recently opened a store at 29-35 9th Avenue in the Meatpacking District.
Rolex has yet to release a construction timeline for its new headquarters. Its current one remains open. The company did not return a request to comment.
The project evinces confidence in a Midtown office market that has been decimated by the pandemic. Close to 20 percent of all Midtown office space was available in the second quarter, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield. Meanwhile, sublease vacant space increased by 14.7 percent to an all-time high of 12.6 million square feet.
Office landlords were hoping that corporate tenants would come back in September, but the Delta variant has put those plans on hold.