The Hearst Tower has of office space. According to the New York City Department of City Planning, the building has a gross floor area of . The tower received a zoning bonus that enabled its maximum floor area to be expanded by six floors or , a twenty percent increase from the previous maximum allowed floor area of . In exchange, the Hearst Corporation agreed to improve access to the subway station directly underneath, adding three elevators and reconfiguring the subway station's circulation areas. Without the zoning amendment, the Hearst Corporation might have had to pay up to $10 million for additional air rights, as the company had already utilized all the unused air rights above the Hearst Magazine Building.