Rolex Unveils HQ Tower in Manhattan
The luxury watchmaker will also open a flagship store at the site.
Luxury watchmaker Rolex will open The Rolex Building, a 30-story office tower in Midtown Manhattan, in the fall of 2026. Located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 53rd Street, the building will serve as Rolex’s U.S. headquarters.
David Chipperfield designed the 165,000-square-foot tower, which will also include four floors of Rolex retail space. Additionally, investment firm Angeles Wealth Management will also lease space in the building. Cushman & Wakefield is handling leasing efforts on behalf of Rolex.
The tower, with a street address of 665 Fifth Ave., is targeting LEED and WELL Platinum certifications. The structure incorporates a double-skin façade system that optimizes for natural light to reduce energy usage and improve thermal performance.
The Rolex Building will also be fully electric and utilize on-site rainwater and greywater recycling facilities. Additionally, the tower’s heating and cooling system circulates temperature-controlled water through ceiling pipes, which can improve air quality while using less power to control the interior temperature.
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Chipperfield’s design for the tower is inspired by the fluted bezel of Rolex watches. The building’s stacked architecture enables four outdoor terraces, and the flooring is made from terrazzo with pyrolave accents. The project’s construction manager is Pavarini McGovern. Tenant amenities will include an on-site restaurant and event space.
Rolex’s previous headquarters were located at the same address, but the original structure was demolished to make room for the new tower. Foundation work on the current development began in December 2023.
Manhattan office market gains momentum
Manhattan continues to defy broader office building trends, with the borough continuing to record high marks in development, vacancy rates and transaction activity.
As of December 2025, Manhattan had 2.7 million square feet underway across seven projects, according to a Yardi Matrix report. Among gateway markets, the metro placed second after Boston, where 5.4 million square feet were under development.
The market’s vacancy rate clocked in at 13.6 percent as of December 2025, a 300-basis-point drop over the previous 12 months. The figure is far below the 18.4 percent national rate, and it represents the lowest rate in the U.S.
Investor appetite in Manhattan also jumped notably in 2025. At the end of last year, the metro recorded $7.8 billion in deals, a significant increase from the $4.1 billion figure recorded in 2024. The borough secured the top spot in the nation for transaction activity.
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