Archinect - News

Looking back critically on the two-decade supertall building revolution in New York City

2022-12-24T10:00:00-05:00

We’re living through the birth of a new species of skyscraper that not even architects and engineers saw coming. After 9/11, experts concluded that skyscrapers were finished. Tall buildings that were in the works got scaled down or canceled on the assumption that soaring towers were too risky to be built or occupied. “There were all sorts of public statements that we’re never going to build tall again,” one architect told The Guardian. “All we’ve done in the 20 years since is build even taller.”

The ascendency of “accidental skylines” in Midtown Manhattan, Downtown Brooklyn, Miami, and recently Austin and Los Angeles is becoming a defining design trait of American cities as we move into the century’s third decade. “It’s a message of power,” developer Don Peebles told the Atlantic. “It’s not trying to blend in. It’s trying to stand out.”

The changes to New York City alone can be traced to new engineering techniques, rezoning, and the acceleration of real estate development begun under Michael Bloomberg’s administration, unprecedented wealth transfers that underwrite the high-end luxury residential market, and even the rise of architectural media, with lawsuits and public backlash representing the inevitable resistance against the envelope-pushing designs.

“In 2050, when these slender towers are eligible for landmark protection,” Skyscraper Museum director Carol ...

Central Park Tower penthouse lists for a record $250 million in Manhattan

2022-09-20T14:31:00-04:00

High rollers in the most expensive residential market in the country now have the chance to own its highest-elevated piece of real estate as the penthouse apartment in Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill's record-breaking Central Park Tower is now up for sale in Manhattan.

The asking price for the triplex unit occupying the 129th–131st floors is reportedly $250 million, easily doubling the $169 million listing price that the 96th floor unit in Rafael Viñoly’s troubled 432 Park Avenue tower commanded when it hit the market a year ago and surmounting the $238 million figure hedge funder Ken Griffin paid for his 220 Central Park South penthouse in 2019.

Previously on Archinect: Recent sales at Central Park Tower close below their asking prices reflecting falling values at Billionaires' Row residences

At 1,416 feet, the apartment is the world’s highest private residence and comes complete with 27-foot ceilings, a ballroom, grand salon, and two kitchens. It’s high enough that the curvature of the...

Construction begins on ODA-designed residential tower along Billionaire's Row

2022-08-02T13:55:00-04:00

Construction has begun on an ODA-designed residential tower along New York City’s Billionaire’s Row. The 175,000-square-foot building will sit at 126 East 57th Street, comprising 175 units. Nearly all of the residences will have private outdoor terraces, creating a pixelated effect across the cast-in-place concrete façade with projections and recesses.

The main entrance will be located on 57th Street and guide residents through a copper, mirrored gateway into a six-story-tall atrium with views of a landscaped courtyard. A gallery continues the journey to the lobby. An alternate entrance along 56th Street will feature a porte cochere for car drop-off.

Rendering by Brick Visual

“This building brings a human scale, playfulness, and visual interest to this upscale corridor of 57th Street,” Founder and Executive Director of ODA, Eran Chen, commented on the design. “As New York City slowly transforms Midtown East to a residential destination, we strive to offer a contemporary outlook for...

SHoP's 111 West 57th Street supertall tower is one important step closer to completion

2022-04-05T20:00:00-04:00

A milestone development on the way to what is one of the most anticipated new openings of the year as the exteriors have been completed on SHoP’s award-winning 111 West 57th Street supertall tower in Midtown Manhattan.

Once completed, the building will stand as the second-tallest residential structure in the Western Hemisphere and sit atop the landmark Steinway Hall building, which houses 14 of the 60 total full-floor and duplex residences located within the 1,428-foot-tall development.

Video courtesy of SHoP Architects.

The exterior is defined by a stepped design that tapers along the south-facing facade as it reaches ever skyward to create a dramatic visual statement in combination with an east-west oriented terra cotta pilaster cladding system and a 300-foot decorative steel crown.

Photo by Evan Joseph, image courtesy SHoP Architects.

Per the architects: “The intricate façade is designed to be viewed from multiple scales and vantage points: Terra cotta panels with 22 different ...

Passersby injured by falling ice from Billionaires' Row supertall

2022-02-28T13:55:00-05:00

Ice believed to have fallen more than 1,400 feet from a Midtown condo crushed the roof and smashed the windshield of Deneice O’Connor’s car as she drove up Sixth Ave., the shaken motorist said Saturday. “It just crashed down on me. I immediately thought a body had fallen on my car,” O’Connor, 35, told the Daily News.

The ice is believed to have fallen from the SHoP Architects-designed 111 W. 57th Street supertall, one of the world's thinnest skyscrapers and tallest residential buildings in the Western Hemisphere. It is a prominent fixture along “Billionaires’ Row”. Police have also reported that another person, a 17-year-old girl, was injured by falling ice originating from 40 W. 57th Street. The Friday afternoon incidents are being investigated by the city Building Department, with the inspectors issuing a violation against the owners of 111 W. 57th Street.

The TikTok post below shows large panes of ice falling one by one onto the surrounding street as pedestrians walk by.

@japanesecarlos The thump was loud af #nyc #nyclife #nycproblems #omg #newyorker #newyorklife ♬ Paris - Else

Recent sales at Central Park Tower close below their asking prices reflecting falling values at Billionaires' Row residences

2021-11-02T19:30:00-04:00

The supertall Central Park Tower, the latest addition by Extell Development to Midtown Manhattan’s Billionaires’ Row, had more recorded sales in October, including two full-floor aeries. But both of them, like other recent transactions in the new building, closed well below their asking price.

Of all the recent sales at Central Park Tower, just one was made around the asking price. At the Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill-designed luxury skyscraper, which boasts the highest roof in the Western Hemisphere, The New York Times reports three recent apartment sales well below their listed prices. An apartment listed for $78.1 million sold for $48 million; a similar-sized unit listed for $63 million sold for $40.8 million; and another listed for $14.7 million sold for $12.3 million.

This trend according to appraiser Jonathan J. Miller of Miller Samuel is present in other Billionaires’ Row residences, noting that resales at other luxury skyscrapers have not held their value. “Prices in general for Billionaires’ Row peaked in 2015-2016, and since then, they have fallen 25 to 50 percent, depending on the building.”

At the nearby RAMSA-designed 220 Central Park South, however, which sits just outside Billionaires' Row, The New York Times reports a $66 million sale, approximately $15.6 mi...

Only three of New York's 25 tallest residential buildings have reportedly received a final certificate of occupancy

2021-10-01T19:23:00-04:00

The skyscrapers of New York’s so-called Billionaires’ Row in Midtown Manhattan have something in common besides eye-watering prices: The city still considers them active construction sites, with a range of safety-related requirements that remain incomplete, sometimes years after occupancy.

All of the eight new Billionaires’ Row towers are reportedly missing final signoff from the Department of Buildings on elevators and plumbing, with seven lacking final signoff on fire sprinklers and standpipes. Five are missing approvals from the fire department. According to The New York Times, there are at least hundreds of buildings across New York City that have similarly not received a final certificate of occupancy, with many operating with temporary certificates. The paper reports that only 3 of the 25 tallest residential buildings have obtained the final certificate.

The increased rise of supertall towers in New York, skinnier and more complex than ever, has exposed the gaps in the city’s inspection and enforcement strategy. Engineers, urban planners, and former employees of the Department of Buildings have expressed concerns over the safety risks that arise as a result of these shortcomings.

Previously on Archinect: Residents of NYC's 432 Park Avenue are suing the develope...

Central Park Tower breaks Willis Tower's record 45-year claim to highest roof in the Western Hemisphere

2019-08-05T07:00:00-04:00

Central Park Tower, aka 217 West 57th Street, has surpassed the 1,450-foot-tall Willis Tower (née Sears Tower) to claim the title of highest roof in the Western Hemisphere. The Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill-designed supertall is being developed by Extell and will soon top-out at 1,550 feet tall over Billionaires’ Row.

Once the world's tallest building from 1974 to 1996, the 1,450-foot-tall Willis Tower in Chicago is, little by little, kicked out from top placements in various height-record categories by the new kids on blocks all over the world.

After losing the overall height crown to the twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur in the mid-90s (when it was still the Sears Tower), the 110-story Modernist structure was ejected from the elusive Top 10 Tallest Buildings club when the 2,073-foot-tall Shanghai Tower was completed, and now, Willis Tower had to pass on also the title of highest roof in the Western Hemisphere to a young, skinny New Yorker on Billionaires' Row, the soon-to-be-completed (and tallest residential building on the planet) Central Park Tower.

View this post on Instagram @CentralParkTower and @One57–– two NYC landmarks gracing the skyline and providing residents with unparalleled views of #billionairesrow
A post shared by Central Park Tower (@centralparktower) o...

FDNY Union says no to oversized mechanical spaces

2019-06-14T19:45:00-04:00

"It is difficult enough for Firefighters operating inside of high-rise buildings. Access to the fire area and to whatever is on fire is paramount to save lives and to protect Firefighters operating at these fires... While we acknowledge and accept the risks of our profession, we strongly oppose construction methods that are inherently dangerous that for no valid reason increase the threat to the lives of the public and our members."

The Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York has come out in strong support of state-level legislation aimed at limiting the ability of real estate developers to use "mechanical void spaces" to game zoning codes into allowing them to construct taller buildings.

In a strongly-worded memo, circulated by the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts group, the Fire Department of New York union says, "Void spaces, often entire floors in buildings put hazardous equipment such as High Voltage Air Conditioning and heating equipment in the middle of buildings, many floors above street level. These void floors bring fire hazards into areas of a building where it is most difficult for Firefighters to fight these types of equipment fires."

New York City's "Accidental Skyline," Image courtesy of Wikimedia user Chris O.

Two legislative proposals, Senate Bill S3820A and Assembly Bill A5026A, aim to fine-tune how municipalities define a project's floor area.

Under recent gui...

Homeless shelter on Billionaires' Row approved by court; opposing neighbors to appeal the ruling

2019-06-13T14:41:00-04:00

The state Appellate Division’s First Judicial Department issued a ruling on Tuesday denying the West 58th Street Coalition’s motion to extend a temporary injunction to stop the opening of the homeless shelter. The city plans to open the shelter at the former Park Savoy Hotel at 158 W. 58th St. It is located on a block near an area dubbed Billionaires’ Row, which is home to a group of luxury residential skyscrapers.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the West 58th Street Coalition, the neighborhood group opposing the planned homeless shelter, would "appeal Tuesday’s ruling to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, which would hear the case in the fall."

The shelter population in New York City is currently estimated at about 58,000 people.

This story previously on Archinect: Homeless shelter on Billionaires' Row faces new (temporary) opposition

Homeless shelter on Billionaires' Row faces new (temporary) opposition

2019-05-13T18:26:00-04:00

A judge temporarily stopped the city’s plan to open a homeless shelter in a former hotel near Billionaires’ Row, which a group of residents have been trying to derail citing fire safety concerns in the property. [...] The stay is the latest in a nearly two year battle between locals and the city over the shelter at the Park Savoy Hotel—which backs against the One57 luxury tower that has $100 million condos [...].

"Neighbors have fiercely opposed the shelter, citing possible increased criminal activity and fire safety concerns," reports Curbed NY. "But, as [Judge Alexander] Tisch noted in his April ruling, the FDNY approved the building’s Fire Protection Plan. Further, a source familiar with the plan said that there will be a 10 p.m. curfew and 24/7 security."

Central Park Tower rises above 432 Park, officially becomes tallest residential building in the world

2019-03-27T10:59:00-04:00

Extell Development’s supertall on Billionaires’ Row is officially the tallest residential tower in the world. Central Park Tower, at 225 West 57th Street, has reached its 92nd floor, surpassing the 1,396-foot-tall tower at 432 Park Avenue. Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Central Park Tower will top out at 95 stories, or 1,550 feet tall, making it stand out significantly among neighboring skyscrapers when construction wraps up next year.

'Ultra-prime' real estate market with $25M+ properties shows no sign of slowing

2018-12-12T13:48:00-05:00

A new report by real estate agency Knight Frank finds that 153 properties in six cities’ “ultra-prime” category sold for a combined total of $6.6 billion in the last year, or an average of $43 million per house. Hong Kong led the world in sales over $25 million, followed by New York, then London.

Market slowdown? What market slowdown? While the real estate sector in the U.S. and certain global regions (looking at you, Brexit-y London) is seeing signs of cooling, including the upper-scale segment, there has been no significant impact on the uppest-scale cream slice of the industry with ultra-luxury properties worth $25 million and up, according to the new study The Global Ultra-Prime Market 2019 from real estate consulting firm Knight Frank.

"Bailey’s team identified 129,730 people on the planet with more than $50 million in investable assets in 2017," reports Bloomberg. "They saw consistent participation from those individuals in the ultra-prime market in just 17 geographic sales areas."

New renderings of Central Park Tower aka Nordstrom Tower aka 217 West 57th Street

2018-10-16T13:36:00-04:00

It’s looking to be a big year for Billionaires’ Row: Just one month after sales launched at 111 West 57th Street, Extell has followed suit at Central Park Tower, its behemoth located at 217 West 57th Street. [...] The development has been somewhat shrouded in mystery since plans were announced more than five years ago. Construction got underway not long after, but details about the tower have been few and far between.

With a target floor count of 101 and designed to stand 1,550 feet tall once completed, the Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture-designed tower on Billionaires’ Row brands itself as the "tallest residential building in the world". At this height, the upper floors don't have much else standing in their way to interrupt their million-dollar views of New York City's Central Park.

Image via @centralparktower on Instagram