AmTrustRE has completed a comprehensive modernization of 360 Lexington Avenue, a 268,000-square-foot office property in Manhattan. The firm acquired the building in late 2024 and has since undertaken a full repositioning aimed at recasting the asset as a contemporary, hospitality-oriented workplace. The work centers on updating the property while retaining the design character that has defined the building for decades.
The repositioning was led by New York-based MdeAS Architects, which was engaged to reimagine the building for current office users. According to AmTrustRE president Jonathan Bennett, the project was designed to build on the property’s existing strengths, including its location just steps from Grand Central and within Midtown’s core business district. Bennett noted that the modernization was conceived to serve the next generation of office tenants while remaining grounded in the building’s established identity.
Originally completed in 1959, 360 Lexington Avenue was designed by Schuman & Lichtenstein in a transitional mid-century modern style that emerged in the postwar period. The recent work by MdeAS focuses on enhancing that architectural legacy rather than replacing it, seeking to align the building’s aesthetics and functionality with contemporary workplace expectations.
A key element of the repositioning is a new double-height storefront at the base of the building. MdeAS framed this entry with large-scale, angular metal panels that twist upward toward the corner, giving the property a more pronounced and recognizable presence at street level. This intervention is intended to create a clearer identity for the building on Lexington Avenue while drawing more attention to the lobby and entry sequence.
Bennett highlighted MdeAS’s understanding of the building’s character and credited the firm with articulating a clear vision for how to elevate the property while respecting what makes it distinctive. The completed modernization positions 360 Lexington Avenue as a refreshed office option in Midtown, combining an updated ground-floor profile with a design approach that references its mid-century origins. The project reflects an effort to align a legacy Manhattan office building with today’s workplace preferences without discarding the attributes that have historically defined the asset.
