Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
The congested, chaotic section of Manhattan near Pennsylvania Station is undeniably drab. Does that make it blighted?
New York State has decreed that it is, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has recently likened the Penn Station area to “a Skid Row neighborhood.” She was defending the controversial plan to allow developers to build 10 towers around the decrepit train station — the busiest transit hub in the nation — in exchange for some of the $7 billion the state needs to renovate it.
— The New York Times
The same tactic was used in the urban cores of major American cities such as Los Angeles to break apart mostly residential areas and redevelop them into high-rise-laden commercial districts, a practice which may now be boomeranging in the post-pandemic economy. New York is claiming “economic... View full entry
For the third time in this already record-breaking week, Foster + Partners has revealed images of a recently-completed commercial tower after the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the firm’s long-awaited 425 Park Avenue project was held earlier today in Manhattan. The tapering 897-foot design begins... View full entry
A key state oversight body approved the financing plan to redevelop Penn Station and its surrounding neighborhood Wednesday, greenlighting one of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s loftiest projects, which is estimated to cost a total of $22 billion. — Gothamist
Yesterday the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB), a state entity behind granting financial approval for proposals from statewide public authorities, approved how the multibillion-dollar Penn Station Redevelopment Plan will be funded. A day before the vote, a document was released detailing... View full entry
New York State officials on Thursday approved a sweeping redevelopment of Midtown Manhattan that would transform Pennsylvania Station, the busiest transportation hub in North America, from a run-down transit center into a city centerpiece. The eight-member board of Empire State Development, the state’s economic development agency and the group steering the project, unanimously voted in favor. — The New York Times
The Penn Station Redevelopment Plan is set to be one of the largest real estate projects in U.S. history. The project, spanning approximately 18 million square feet, includes the construction of 10 skyscrapers surrounding the station that will host office and retail space, 1,800 housing units, and... View full entry
One of the world’s most recognizable addresses is about to get a new look after New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) granted full approval to a plan that would transform the iconic 30 Rockefeller Plaza into Midtown’s latest tourist destination. The first of the new... View full entry
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... View full entry
A collapsing floor injured two workers Monday at a midtown office building where falling exterior work killed a prominent architect in 2019. The accident at 729 Seventh Avenue happened just before 10 a.m. During active demolition work on the 18th floor, part of the floor collapsed, sending two workers dropping to the 17th floor. They were taken to area hospitals; their conditions were not immediately clear. — NBC New York
The address is well known as the site where, in December 2019, architect Erica Tishman was struck by a piece of falling debris that her family claims directly resulted from negligence on the part of the property developer and the Department of Buildings. Administrative code charges... View full entry
Snøhetta has completed a four-story observation complex at One Vanderbilt, New York City. Titled SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, the architects describe the scheme as one which “calms the observatory experience with a choreographed procession of connective social spaces.” Hallway. Image: SnøhettaThe... View full entry
A dramatic new feature is close to opening atop one recent addition to New York’s skyline. Summit One Vanderbilt offers visitors of the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed tower a multisensory experience as well as an attractive nordic-themed café and lounge in addition to stunning views of the... View full entry
Kohn Pedersen Fox's (KPF) infamous One Vanderbilt tower has finally opened. A project extensively covered on Archinect, the 77-story building now stands completed and open to the public. According to the firm's press team, the tower "transforms the civic experience of the Grand... View full entry
Plans for a site located at 265 West 45th Street in New York City's Midtown district are beginning to take shape as developer Extell moves forward with a potential project there. New York YIMBY reports that the developer recently filed demolition permits for a series of four-story... View full entry
The developers behind the distinct supertall at 432 Park Avenue want to take a second shot at altering New York City’s skyline. Harry Macklowe submitted last week a preliminary application to the city’s planning department for a 1,551-foot-tall skyscraper between 51st and 52nd Streets in... View full entry
Construction of SL Green’s supertall One Vanderbilt continues to push forward, with the steel erection on the 16th floor now complete. By the end of the year, the developer expects to reach the 30th floor of the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed, 1,401-foot skyscraper, which will become the... View full entry
While the Brutalist architecture of the MetLife Building, formerly the Pan Am Building, makes this 59-story skyscraper stand out among Midtown’s many tall towers, its large sign touting its namesake makes it easy for all to identify. Beginning this week, the insurance company will replace the massive letters with a brand new typeface, as Crain’s reported. — 6sqft.com
The installation of the new, more modern logo will be the first time the building’s sign has changed since 1993 when 15- and 18-foot-long letters spelling out MetLife replaced Pan Am’s sign. View full entry
Walk through the towering door now, and Midtown falls away. The transition is not abrupt; a visitor is met first with a bank of wooden cupboards, easing newcomers off the street and into the vastness of the house itself. Then, space. The main room provides an unimpeded vista through 100 feet of natural-lit openness, a glass wall, a courtyard and pond, and a small separate structure beyond. The effect — of muted light, of air, of cleanness — is moving. — The New York Times
Fresh from her daily column at The Paris Review, Sadie Stein visits a Philip Johnson-designed apartment/artistic showcase in midtown Manhattan known as the "Rockfeller Guest House."Combining a rich historical narrative with some evocatively observed design, this piece is, as befits its author, a... View full entry
