The Torch

Extell's 52-story supertall at 740 Eighth Avenue pairs an 825-room hotel with a public observation deck, a drop ride, and a torch-shaped glass spire above Times Square. Construction resumed in mid-2025 after a stall and passed the halfway point by August 2026, but no hotel brand or opening date has been announced.

The place

740 Eighth Avenue sits at the northern edge of Times Square, on the border of the Theater District and Hell's Kitchen in Midtown Manhattan, a few blocks from Port Authority Bus Terminal and the Eighth Avenue subway lines.

The concept

The Torch is Extell Development's supertall hotel-and-observation-deck project on Eighth Avenue, designed by ODA under architect Eran Chen. Reported at 52 stories and roughly 1,000-1,070 feet tall depending on the source, the tower is topped by an approximately 500-foot spiraling glass structure: the 'torch' that gives the project its working name. Below it, the building is planned to hold an 825-room hotel across roughly 875,000-886,000 square feet.

Construction began in 2022 but stalled in March 2024 amid financing gaps. Extell arranged close to $1.3 billion in senior construction and mezzanine debt to restart the project, work resumed in June 2025, and the tower has climbed steadily since, passing the halfway mark by August 2026. As of that reporting, the hotel operator was still unnamed: Extell had signed a letter of intent with an unidentified luxury hotel chain willing to invest in construction in return for guarantees tied to additional mezzanine financing. Until a brand is confirmed, the project should be treated as a speculative supertall with a confirmed room count and observation-deck program, not yet a named hotel.

Dining & wellness

Plans described in press coverage include a restaurant spanning two of the tower's upper floors, a VIP lounge, and a pool deck reserved for hotel guests, alongside retail space at the base of the building. None of these have been tied to a named chef, operator, or brand.