NEW YORK | 855 6th Ave l 479 FT / M l 43 FLOORS

[Scruffy]

855 6th Ave
455 Ft / 139 M
30 Fl
Costas Kondylis & Partners

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/Scruffy66/saya/renders/8551.jpg
This 40 story story is designed by Costas kondylis for the west side of 6th Ave between 31st and 32nd st. This sits in the middle of the revitalized 6th Ave that has seen new tower construction from west 24th street and north. To the south of this one is the 614 Foot Fitzpatrick Hotel at 639 6th Ave and to the north is the over 500 foot 885 6th Ave. This will virtually complete a wall of towers from 24th st to 59th st.

6/20/08
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/Scruffy66/saya/DSC02332-1.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/Scruffy66/saya/DSC02333-1.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/Scruffy66/saya/DSC02346-1.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/Scruffy66/saya/DSC02338-1.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/Scruffy66/saya/DSC02336-1.jpg

2 months later and the makeshift midtown campfire hasn't been touched. There are rumors that this tower is on hold.
8/24/08
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/Scruffy66/saya/241.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/Scruffy66/saya/242.jpg

[Scruffy]

Feb 09
The site is unchanged. Now it is being said on other sites that this site is in foreclosure. So this end up being a dead project instead of a stalled one.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/new%20cam/IMG_4806.jpg

[NYguy]

Yeah, and it's a shame because this was my favorite of the three.

[Obey]

I can't imagine nothing will be built on this site. It's in the middle of the city.

[Dac150]

I can't imagine nothing will be built on this site. It's in the middle of the city.

If it weren’t for financing difficulties, this site would be currently occupied by the tower in the rendering. Eventually, something will emerge on this site.

[Rizzo]

Ugly and generic looking tower. Maybe it's a good thing this isn't getting built. Save the site for something better.

[Dac150]

I’m sure whatever does end up there will be comparable in both size and design. It’s funny though, I thought this one had the most interesting design of the three.

[RobertWalpole]

I believe that Durst recently purchased this site and plans to change the design. Something should start rising in 2011, and Durst generally builds nice towers.

[Dac150]

^^^Just out of curiosity, where’d you hear that?

[RobertWalpole]

Here's an article from Curbed.com:

http://ny.curbed.com/tags/855-sixth-avenue

Zombie Buildings

http://ny.curbed.com/uploads/2010_7_855sixth.jpg

Foreclosure and a Redesign Coming to Planned Sixth Avenue Tower

Gargantuan new towers have been popping up along Sixth Avenue, testing the northern boundaries of Chelsea. Glassy giants like the Eventi hotel and Tower 111. The Costas Kondylis-designed 855 Sixth Avenue was supposed to join them, but the site slipped into the dark wormhole of foreclosure when co-developers Yitzak Tessler and the Chetrits defaulted on over $100 million in loans. That situation will soon be resolved, the Post's Lois Weiss reports, but don't count on seeing that 355,000-square-foot Kondylis design coming to life anytime soon. Or ever.

Durst Fetner Associates, a partnership of developers Hal Fetner and the Durst Organization, has purchased the note on the development site, putting it in position to take ownership at a foreclosure auction to be held within the next 90 days. Weiss reports "new architects are being interviewed to develop a 'green' building to fit within their portfolio," but wouldn't the most eco-friendly solution be recycling Kondylis's design instead of tossing it in the trash? Al Gore, please discuss in the comments.
· Between the Bricks [NYP, second item]
· Tower 111 is Busy for the Holidays, But About Its Neighbors [Curbed]


Here's an article from the NY Post that Curb cited in the above-posted story:


Trading places for Deutsche
Last Updated: 10:33 AM, July 7, 2010

Posted: 1:13 AM, July 7, 2010

Lois Weiss - Between the Bricks


Durst Fetner Associates has purchased the $131 million note on the residential development site at 855 Ave. of the Americas from iStar Financial, setting itself up to complete the foreclosure process and take ownership.

An auction sale will occur within the next 90 days, said Hal Fetner, a partner with the Durst family.

The site encompasses the entire block front between West 30th and 31st streets in the former Flower District.

Over the last decade the avenue has become lined with brand new apartment towers all the way to West 23rd Street.

The property was slated for an approximately 355,000-square-foot development by Yitzak Tessler and the Chetrits with a design by Costas Kondylis.

New architects are being interviewed to develop a "green" building to fit within their portfolio, said Fetner. The note, he added, was purchased at a "modest discount."



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/realestate/commercial/trading_places_for_deutsche_GvLCta6dBB1TLbPht9aXNL#ixzz18d4exZAw

[Obey]

I don't usually jump on the 'I hope something gets built freakin' tall on this site' bandwagon but I hope something tall is built on this site to even out the skyline with 15 Penn and the ESB.

[Crawford]

The Durst Organization bought this site a few months ago.

He said he's interviewing architects, is planning a totally "green" building, and has discarded the old plan.

He also said he's reducing or eliminating the retail space and adding more rental apartments. So I would imagine the final outcome will be much taller and thinner than the previous design (probably something like 839 6th Avenue just to the south).

[Dac150]

Well that’s certainly good to know.

[RobertWalpole]

Something should start rising here in 2011:

http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/durst-fetner-closes-on-foreclosed-herald-square-parcel

[NYC2ATX]

Thank god they are redesigning it. This was the ugly tower out of the three that were proposed on these blocks of 6th Avenue (Eventi & The Continental being the other two). I cannot wait to see what they build instead :cheers:

[Lecom]

The Durst Organization bought this site a few months ago.

He said he's interviewing architects, is planning a totally "green" building, and has discarded the old plan.

He also said he's reducing or eliminating the retail space and adding more rental apartments. So I would imagine the final outcome will be much taller and thinner than the previous design (probably something like 839 6th Avenue just to the south).

Elimination of ground level retail is bad news. That area could use more street level activity, which would be easily channeled from the adjacent and crowded ESB/Macy's area and would provide an inviting connective corridor to Chelsea. This building would benefit from the adjacent pocket park behind The Eventi, while blocking the atrocious Eventi blank wall from northern vantage points.

This would definitely be a great place to build a taller, skinny tower. Unlike the skyscraper thickets of Downtown and Midtown, Midtown South is still largely midrise, punctuated by a few tall towers, so a tower here would provide near-unobstructed sweeping views of the streetscape, facing the ESB, Chrysler, etc on one side and the Hudson River on the other.

[RobertWalpole]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703667904576072190670376636.html?mod=WSJ_NY_LEFTTopStories

NY REAL ESTATE RESIDENTIALJANUARY 10, 2011.New Skyscraper Ignites Growth Below 34th Street .Article Comments more in NewYork-Real Estate ».EmailPrintSave This ↓ By DANA RUBINSTEIN
A real-estate group led by developer Douglas Durst plans to break ground within the year on a $350 million skyscraper just south of Herald Square, in one of the first major private construction projects to move forward in the wake of the downturn.

The development of the 40-story apartment tower also signals the transformation of Sixth Avenue south of 34th Street, from a wholesale and flower district into a high-end residential and retail corridor.

View Full Image

Ramsay de Give for The Wall Street Journal

Site of the planned 500,000-square-foot building
.Mr. Durst and has partner Harold Fetner closed on the purchase of the site on Dec. 21, six years after they first considered buying the site. They are finalizing negotiations with Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects to design the glass facade of the 500,000-square-foot building that will include at least 300,000 square feet of rental apartments, 80% of them luxury, 20% "affordable."

The developers haven't decided what to put in the tower's base. "Right now, we're leaning towards retail, though we are talking with hotel developers too," Mr. Durst said in an interview last week.

The project is moving forward at a time when the private construction market is struggling to come back to life after one of the worst real-estate markets in a generation. Financing is still difficult to obtain and clouds of uncertainty are still lingering over the city's economy.

More
Douglas Durst Takes Helm to Change City Landscape
.Demand in the apartment residential market, though, has been relatively strong compared with other sectors. Effective rents, which take into account landlord concessions, grew 5.25% in 2010 after suffering a record 5.9% drop in 2009, according to market research firm Reis Inc.

Also, Mr. Durst has a reputation for taking advantage of down markets to move forward with development plans. The grandson of the late Joseph Durst, the family patriarch, Douglas Durst, also helped lead the industry out of the recession of the early 1990s with the Conde Nast Building in Times Square.

The neighborhood south of Herald Square has changed dramatically since the 1995 rezoning of Sixth Avenue, which ushered in higher-density development. In 2000, the Albanese Organization completed the Vanguard Chelsea at 24th Street and Sixth Avenue, the first residential development there of note.

Now, as the Flatiron district moves west and Chelsea extends north, Sixth Avenue south of 28th street is crowded with mammoth luxury rental towers, such as the Archstone Chelsea and the Chelsea Landmark.

The area between 28th Street and Herald Square is just now taking off, with the recent opening of the Beatrice, a hotel and residential development, at 30th Street and Sixth Avenue. The avenue's retail remains a mix of wholesale garment stores, and the occasional psychic and flower shop.

.The developers don't see that lasting for much longer. "Everyone's going to go running to it when they see we're building something," Mr. Fetner said.

While Mr. Durst's family is mostly known for office buildings, he has ramped up his residential developments in recent years. Since 2007, all of his major residential projects have been done in partnership with Mr. Fetner, a longtime family friend. Their other projects include the Epic, a luxury rental building on 31st street between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

Like many real-estate investors, Messrs. Durst and Fetner have been looking for opportunity in the economic downturn, creating a $300 million fund to purchase distressed assets. So far they, and others, have found it difficult to do that because lenders have been reluctant to foreclose and sell troubled assets.

But the Sixth Avenue site provided them one of those opportunities.

Mr. Fetner and Mr. Durst first developed an interest in the site, which encompasses the west side of Sixth Avenue, between 30th and 31st Streets, while they were developing the Epic, their first project together. "A lot of people thought we were nuts for building midblock, off the avenue," Mr. Fetner said.

Initially underwriting the Epic at $49 a square foot, the developers were ultimately able to achieve an average rent of $70 a square foot, making the apartment building the most lucrative in their portfolio. That means a 1,000-square-foot two-bedroom apartment would rent for more than $5,800 a month.

"So, in terms of being bullish on the market, we love this marketplace," Mr. Fetner said.

As they were developing the Epic, the site at 855 Sixth Avenue became available. At the time, the development parcel was occupied by tenanted commercial office buildings, and the price, at about $260 a square foot, was too expensive for their taste. "I was really disappointed and said, call me when you get a little bit more realistic," Mr. Fetner said.

The site went through a number of owners ending up with a venture of Yitzchak Tessler, of Tessler Developments, and Jacob and Meyer Chetrit, of the Chetrit Group. In 2007, they purchased the land for $140 million, using $105.3 million in debt from Fremont Investment & Loan, whose real-estate business was later acquired by iStar Financial. The following year, they added a seventh parcel for an additional $12.3 million.

Messrs. Chetrit and Tessler announced they would build a residential tower atop a retail base there. They cleared all but one building from the site. But their plans were upended when the real-estate market collapsed. In 2008, Messrs. Chetrit and Tessler defaulted on their iStar loan, according to court documents. Messrs. Tessler and Chetrit didn't return calls requesting comment.

Their problems gave Messrs. Durst and Fetner another opportunity to go after the site. Last July, the distressed fund they had created bought the iStar debt, paying the full face value, then $101.5 million. By that time iStar had commenced a foreclosure process. The developers figured that either they would eventually take over the site or Messrs. Chetrit and Tessler would repay the debt, plus interest.

"If we lost, we won," said Damon Pazzaglini, chief operating officer for Durst Fetner Residential. "If we didn't get the property we wanted, we would have made 40% in six months."

Ultimately, Messrs. Durst and Fetner succeeded in convincing Messrs. Chetrit and Tessler to turn over the site. That happened late last month.

"Now," Mr. Fetner said, "the fun starts."

"We're very anxious to start building again," said Mr. Durst.

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[Dac150]

It was only a matter of time until this site started heating up again; glad that Durst is behind this.

[NYguy]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703667904576072190670376636.html?mod=WSJ_NY_LEFTTopStories

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-AS223_DURST_G_20110109175013.jpg


A real-estate group led by developer Douglas Durst plans to break ground within the year on a $350 million skyscraper just south of Herald Square, in one of the first major private construction projects to move forward in the wake of the downturn.

The development of the 40-story apartment tower also signals the transformation of Sixth Avenue south of 34th Street, from a wholesale and flower district into a high-end residential and retail corridor.

Mr. Durst and has partner Harold Fetner closed on the purchase of the site on Dec. 21, six years after they first considered buying the site. They are finalizing negotiations with Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects to design the glass facade of the 500,000-square-foot building that will include at least 300,000 square feet of rental apartments, 80% of them luxury, 20% "affordable."

The developers haven't decided what to put in the tower's base. "Right now, we're leaning towards retail, though we are talking with hotel developers too," Mr. Durst said in an interview last week.

Looking forward to the new design. Also glad they are keeping retail at the base.

[yankeesfan1000]

Great news, it's been said before but it's not surprising that this will start rising within the year given its location. Looking forward to seeing the new render.

[crepey]

It’ll be interesting to see what of really going to come up in the place now that it has been confirmed that Durst Organization has bought this sight in New York and if I have heard and understood correctly, their buildings have really great designs!! Lets us hope it will be a structure which will stand out as the best of the three there!!angie's list (http://www.angieslist.com/angieslist/)

[RobertWalpole]

Very good news about this tower!

http://www.observer.com/2011/real-estate/durst-does-unthinkable-makes-big-pyramid-reality#

SPECIALS: Best of 2010, Brooklyn Living, Home, Playground, Sensational Travel Escapes Winter 2011
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Home Daily Transom Politics Tech Real Estate Media Culture Opinion Specials Durst Opens New Era with BIG Apartment Pyramid [Video]
Email Print More...By Matt Chaban
February 8, 2011 | 11:00 a.m.

BIG plans in the foreground (plus Extell's Riverside South rising behind).

Durst Fetner Residential Back when we first got a glimpse of Dutch architect Bjarke Ingel's new apartment project for Durst Fetner, it immediately became the most exciting new project in at least a generation. Though seen only in comic-book form and as a fleeting still from a flythrough video (see below), the building at 57th Street and the Hudson River became an immediate sensation.

Not only is this an entirely new building typology—a smallscale-meets-high-rise residential building the likes, and shape, of which the city has never seen—but the fact that it is being pursued after the bursting (at least temporarily) of the city's real estate bubble demonstrates that architecture is not, in fact, dead, as many had feared. Developers, at least the smart ones, realize that investing in quality repays itself. Who knows, maybe this will be the new normal, and what a place to start!

Yesterday, Durst Fetner Residential announced that it is officially moving forward with the 600-unit rental project to be designed by Ingel's eponymous group (BIG), following a profile of the architect in the latest issue of New York magazine. The project will go before the local community board Wednesday night, and Douglas Durst told The Observer in an interview that he expects the project to begin the official public review process a year from now. That means we could see construction as early as 2012.

When asked why he would dare undetake such a dynamic project in this market, cousin and co-conspirator Jody Durst reponded, "A strong back and a weak mind."

"We had nothing better to do at the time," Douglas Durst followed. Then he gave the real explanation. "Basically the answer is, we know, to get the approvals, we had to do something spectacular," the elder Durst said. So this was the will of exacting Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden? "Certainly not!" (Later in the interview, Douglas Durst would allow: "We've been told by the Planning Commission that this is really a gateway to Manhattan and it really has to be stunning.")

And stunning it is. The building is a mash-up of European and New York styles, combining a short, blocky apartments-around-a-courtyard model with a high-rise tower. The result is a sloping structure that maximizes harbor views not only for those inside the building but also the neighbors whose sightlines might also be obstructed. New York's Justin Davidson enthuses thusly:

In a gridded city, reason would seem to dictate an architecture of seamless planes and perpendicular lines, but Ingels has found a more efficient eccentricity. Balconies slash the inclined plane. The apartments slant away from the corridor like fishbones so that windows on 58th Street frame westward views. Ingels is a virtuoso of repetitive protrusions: Instead of facing the building with a slick screen of glass, he breaks it into a Cubist expanse of windowed bays

It is one of the grand victories of West Side redevelopment, from the Village to Chelsea to West Harlem, that not only new housing is being built, but it is being built inside bold architecture. In fact, this is yet another paradigm shift, as so many of those magnificent buildings, like Nouvel's 100 11th and Gehry's Beekman Tower in the Financial District are really just the same old apartment buildings sheathed in facade finery. This building is an entirely new shape, a new way of living and building. Whether we see another like it remains to be seen, but the very existance of this property, and Christian de Portzamparc's Riverside South for Extell just to the north, is a sign of a promising future.

"We see long-term value in doing a project like this," Jody Durst said. It is the same reason his firm embraced sustainable design all those years ago, with the Helena rental building across the street and the Conde Nast and Bank of America towers in midtown. It's a value proposition for one of the city's oldest and smartest real estate families. "It's the only building of its kind," Douglas Durst said.

Yet Davidson of New York suggested the Dursts had low-balled on architects in the past, saying Douglas Durst "has generally opted for experienced, deliberate firms like FXFowle and its spinoff, Cook + Fox. A revolutionary he is not." Well... "I take exception to that," the developer told The Observer. "We've been on the progressive side for a long time."

Still, the Dursts know they are doing something special on this site. After all, they told us they would be pursuing the same high-level of sustainable design at another development site Durst Fetner controls on Sixth Avenue between 30th and 31st streets. "I think it will be an environmentally responsible site with more conventional architecture," Jody Durst said. That is if the Bank of America Building can be called conventional.
With that, he acknowledged no design was yet prepared, though a firm had been selected. Which one, neither Douglas nor Jody would not say. Yet perhaps after the success of Bjarke Ingels' project becomes apparent, Durst Fetner might change its mind and consider something more ambitious once again.

mchaban [at] observer.com | @mc_nyo

[NYguy]

they told us they would be pursuing the same high-level of sustainable design at another development site Durst Fetner controls on Sixth Avenue between 30th and 31st streets. "I think it will be an environmentally responsible site with more conventional architecture," Jody Durst said. That is if the Bank of America Building can be called conventional.


Looking forward to it.

[samoen313]

As conventional as Cook + Fox/FXFowle are, pretty much any architecture firm responsible for the overall design of a building can produce something ambitious and remarkable. There are too many talented architects in this country toiling at "experienced, deliberate" firms who would be more than eager to design a project in which they're permitted to think of issues besides simply FAR and cost. Hopefully Durst will take the initiative to make such a request of the firm they've selected.

[RobertWalpole]

C+F did a very nice job with BofA.

[tommaso]

I wonder what the new design is for 6th bet 31st and 32nd?

[RobertWalpole]

A 500,000 sf residential could be 850 feet tall.

http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/durst-fetner-residential-cleared-dispute-at-855-sixth-avenue-between-lawrence-gersetein-and-gary-don-of-new-york-developers-collaborative

Durst Fetner clears hurdle at 500K sf Herald Square site
July 21, 2011 04:00PM

By Adam Pincus
A state court judge handed a victory to Durst Fetner Residential this week, removing a nagging legal speed bump the developer was facing at its large Herald Square site.

The legal cloud has hovered over the property at 855 Sixth Avenue since 2006, when two real estate investors sued a group of developers led by Baruch Singer over a failed partnership bid to acquire a portion of the site.

Durst Fetner became involved in the dispute after it bought the defaulted note for about $104 million from iStar Financial and took title in December 2010 from owners Tessler Developments and the Chetrit Group. It plans to construct a 500,000-square-foot mixed-use tower on the site, between 30th and 31st streets.

The potential amount of the claim was in dispute but a source close to plaintiffs Gary Don, Lawrence Gerstein and their company New York Developers Collaborative, said it could have amounted to as much as an 18 percent ownership stake.

In addition, insiders said such a pending legal action would make it more difficult to get financing for the project.

State Supreme Court Justice Joan Madden's ruling, issued Monday, dismissed the claim affecting Durst Fetner that sought to place a so-called "constructive trust" on the property, which would have allowed the plaintiffs to gain an equity interest in the site.

The judge allowed the other 10 claims of the suit for monetary awards to go forward against Singer and fellow investors Mark Junger, Moses Rosner as well as three related development companies. Insiders noted the plaintiffs could appeal the decision. The next court date is July 28.

Harold Fetner, president and CEO of Durst Fetner Residential, said he was pleased with the decision. He paraphrased the ruling, saying, "[The plaintiffs] had an agreement with Baruch Singer, but there was never any contract with the fee [title], therefore [their] claim can't run with the land."

In addition, he said he believed the value of the plaintiffs' claims were overblown, with Don and Gerstein only entitled to little more than $1 million dollars at most.

Fetner added that if Don and Gerstein do file an appeal, he may ask the judge to require them to post a $100 million bond because they would be impacting the value of his development site.

Attorneys representing the plaintiffs and defendants either declined to comment or were not available for comment.

Don and Gerstein sued in April 2006, seeking either more than $20 million or an ownership interest. They claimed Singer, Junger and Rosner cut them out of the deal to buy and develop the site.

Singer's group ultimately bought the site in Feb. 2006 for $117.5 million and then sold it in March 2007 for $140 million to a partnership between the Chetrit Group and Tessler Developments. They added another piece to the assemblage for $12.3 million in January 2008.

As part of their legal effort, Don and Gerstein filed a notice of pendency, or lis pendens, in April 2006, based on the request for a constructive trust. That claim was reaffirmed three years later in 2009, court records show.

Durst Fetner bought the note last summer for approximately $104 million from iStar Financial and closed on the purchase of the site located along Sixth Avenue from Tessler Developments and the Chetrit Group in December 2010.

[yankeesfan1000]

How worried should we be about this though: "In addition, insiders said such a pending legal action would make it more difficult to get financing for the project,"?

This is a real prime spot, 30th and 6th is right smack in the middle of Manhattan. Honestly surprised it's taken this site so long to come to life. But hey, I'd wait another year or two for an 850 footer here. Thanks RW, NY is on a roll, it's honestly an embarrassment of riches.

[Loqy Lion]

Thanks RW, NY is on a roll, it's honestly an embarrassment of riches.

It's the world's capital, and the 50s-90s stigma of crime/dirty/etc. has faded. We could see 10+ 1,000 footers rise in the next decade. A slew of 800 and 900 footers, too.

[RobertWalpole]

http://www.observer.com/2011/07/hal-fetner-on-1212-fifth-855-sixth-and-more/

[RobertWalpole]

http://www.rew-online.com/2011/07/25/wave-of-new-development-gains-momentum/

[antinimby]

They said it's supposed to be 40 stories. Never mind 850 feet, it'll be lucky if it breaks 500 feet.

It might be nice looking though. Hal even said so and Durst does a good job when it comes to the designs of their projects.

We really need something creative and beautiful in this area as most of the new buildings are real dogs.

[yankeesfan1000]

They said it's supposed to be 40 stories. Never mind 850 feet, it'll be lucky if it breaks 500 feet.

That flour count reflects an old assumption of 300,000 sf, the new plan is to have 500,000 sf. Retail, a hotel, and then 300,000 sf of residential on top of that. Read post 27.

In one of the articles it was noted the developer expects to break ground by April next year, an said more info will be made public in October. Hopefully that's when we get a render.

[Crawford]

I assume it will be much taller than the original proposal, because it's now a hotel-rental combo, instead of the original retail base-rental combo.

In the first proposal, there was a huge retail base, and a squat rental tower. In the new proposal, it's a narrower hotel-rental combo.

So it will probably look something like the newish 650 ft. hotel-residential tower just to the north.

They also bought additional air rights from the buildings just to the west, so they have considerably more square feet to work with than the previous development team.

[RobertWalpole]

Given Durst's interest in great style (e.g., the BIG pyramid and BofA), this should be a very nice tower.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203503204577036020174229622.html?KEYWORDS=durst

[yankeesfan1000]

Good catch RW, 56 stories sounds good to me!

[RobertWalpole]

Good catch RW, 56 stories sounds good to me!

Thanks, amigo. We need to change the title. I wonder if Durst bought more air rights.

[antinimby]

Either that or they finagle with the shape, e.g. make it thinner.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

I think the site will yield a 600+ foot tower with an intriguing design.

[scalziand]

I'm very glad the design's going to change.

[RobertWalpole]

I think the site will yield a 600+ foot tower with an intriguing design.

I would not be surprised to see this exceed 800 feet.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

I would not be surprised to see this exceed 800 feet.

Actually...now that i think about it that doesn't seem very out of the question given the way floors are being measured lately.

[RobertWalpole]

Actually...now that i think about it that doesn't seem very out of the question given the way floors are being measured lately.

It's not remotely out of the question. 500k sf is huge for a residential.

[yankeesfan1000]

Especially if they do some sort of public plaza along 6th which the Eventi did a block away. This is all very promising.

[RobertWalpole]

Given Durst's penchant for great architecture (e.g., BofA and the BIG Pyramid), I wager that this will be VERY nice tower!

[NYC4Life]

The last remaining Sixth Avenue pit will finally get to see the light of day.

[RobertWalpole]

A site across the street will be developed soon too.

[yankeesfan1000]

Durst Fetner, Schrager split at Herald Square development site (http://therealdeal.com/blog/2012/06/13/durst-fetner-splits-from-schrager-at-herald-square-development/)

June 13, 2012 09:30AM

http://therealdeal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/855Sixth.jpg

"Contrary to previous reports, Ian Schrager will not bring a Public Hotel to Durst Fetner Residential’s Herald Square development site, the New York Post reported. A Durst spokesperson said the partnership “couldn’t make the financials of the deal work” for 855 Sixth Avenue, at West 30th Street, and that the developer is in talks with other hotel brands instead. A design won’t be finalized until a hotel is on board.

Reports first emerged of a Schrager-Durst Fetner partnership at the site in November, and Schrager was expected to operate a 250-room hotel on the bottom 16 floors of a 56-story tower designed by Cook + Fox Architects..."

[sbarn]

As expected, this one remains a massive vacant plot in an otherwise thriving neighborhood. Unfortunate that they can't get something pulled together.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8179/7890472514_e22ac38c3a_b.jpg
(photo by me)

[NYguy]

It's a shame, but it can't remain that way forever. But there is at least some activity there when I walk by.

[Crawford]

Durst is moving forward on this, but he hasn't signed a hotel operator yet. I don't think that's necessarily linked to the construction schedule.

He was on the verge of signing the new Public New York (Ian Schrager's new hotel brand), but supposedly that fell apart at the last minute.

[Design-mind]

Given Durst's penchant for great architecture (e.g., BofA and the BIG Pyramid), I wager that this will be VERY nice tower!

Well if Cook and fox are the architects it should be something interesting, after all they brought us One Bryant Park. Can't wait to see what is in store for this lot.

[Dac150]

Gotta love these thread bumps . . .

[NYguy]

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2013/04/09/durst-fetner-changes-course-at-herald-square-tower/

Durst Fetner changes course at Herald Square tower
Hotel concept scrapped at 855 Sixth Avenue, filings show


http://therealdeal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/855Sixth.jpg


April 09, 2013



Developer Durst Fetner Residential is abandoning hotel plans as well as cutting the height of its planned high rise at 855 Sixth Avenue three blocks south of Herald Square.

The developer filed plans last week for a 43-story, 465,420-square-foot office, retail and rental tower to be built on a vacant parcel spanning the entire eastern end of the block from West 30th to West 31st streets, records from the city’s Department of Buildings show.

The new plans represent a change from the proposed 56-story hotel and residential building first reported in November 2011.

Durst Fetner, led by CEO Harold Fetner, declined to comment specifically on why the firm scrapped the hotel concept, but said the strong office and rental market in the area near a major transportation hub would keep demand high.

“The Midtown South office market is red hot,” a spokesperson for the firm said. “In addition, we have maxed out the residential portion of the building to take advantage of the area’s surging rental market.”

The tower designed by CookFox Architects is set to rise in a neighborhood without a clear personality that is located between the active retail center of Herald Square to the north and the trendy NoMad district just to the south, which is home to hotels such as the Ace Hotel and the NoMad Hotel.

Peter Hennessy, president of the tri-state region for commercial firm Cassidy Turley, who is not involved in this project, said Durst Fetner had a relatively low cost basis for the land, which was purchased out of foreclosure. As a result, “they will be able to be very aggressive in terms of their rents and so get great returns,” Hennessy said.

The development will have 382 residential units on floors eight through 40, and just over 30,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, lower level and second floor, the new filings show. In addition, it will have more than 119,000 square feet of office space on the second through sixth floors, the DOB filing says.



Will probably end up a 500 footer...
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=2&passjobnumber=121331102&passdocnumber=01


FILING HEREWITH FOR CONSTRUCTION OF MIXED NEW BUILDING.

[yankeesfan1000]

It'll be nice to see this vacant lot finallyyyy get developed despite the loss of 13 floors or so.

[NYguy]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324125504578509382446057460.html

Towers Rise on EB-5 Funds
Developers Turn to Visa Programs to Help Finance Buildings


By ELIOT BROWN
May 27, 2013



One of New York's most well-known developers is planning to finance two high-end Manhattan towers partly through a visa program that gives green cards to foreigners who invest in certain U.S. projects.

The Durst Organization aims to raise about $260 million through the "EB-5" visa program, which has become increasingly popular in recent years. Durst, like many other developers, has turned to it because of its difficulty in finding other forms of construction financing.

One of the projects would be a 41-story glass tower at Sixth Avenue and 31st Street with a mix of apartments, office space and retail. Plans for the other, 625 W. 57th St., call for a pyramid-shaped apartment building designed by avant-garde architect Bjarke Ingels Group.

Mr. Rosenberg says Durst is hoping to raise $80 million in EB-5 financing for the tower at Sixth Avenue and 31st Street, known as 855 Sixth Ave., which represents about 19% of its total cost. Investors have made commitments for about half of that $80 million, he says.

Durst is working on hiring a construction contractor for the building, slated to have 299 luxury apartments and 76 reserved for low-income families. A brochure from the US Immigration Fund says Durst projects rents will be as high as $8,300 a month for a two-bedroom.

Durst has begun excavation work on the other building, on 57th Street and the West Side Highway, and plans to start raising money soon. The developer hopes to raise $180 million in EB-5 financing for that project.

[sbarn]

Unfortunately, it looks like this is going to be a lame / boring / squat box.

http://www.durst.org/uploads/property_images/855_gallery_01.jpg

http://www.durst.org/uploads/property_images/855_gallery_02.jpg

http://www.rkf.com/rkf/lease-property-detail-picture.php?lease_property_id=453

http://www.visaeb-5.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/855-Ave.-of-Americas-book-ENGLISH-email.pdf

[Crawford]

This building is not very exciting. We were supposed to get a sleek, 700-foot tower, and now they're giving us this boring crap.

Hopefully the other planned development sites along this portion of 6th Ave. will yield more interesting towers.

I know that Virgin Hotels is planning a major tower just a block away.

[babybackribs2314]

So very, very bland. Quite disheartening along with the new renderings of 158 Madison.

Crawford: what are the details on Virgin? That sounds possibly promising...

[Crawford]

Crawford: what are the details on Virgin? That sounds possibly promising...

Virgin is building a flagship hotel tower in this general vicinity. I haven't seen renderings, but the site is a go.

[sbarn]

So very, very bland. Quite disheartening along with the new renderings of 158 Madison.

Yeah, sorry... its a 1 - 2 punch of lameness.

[babybackribs2314]

Virgin is building a flagship hotel tower in this general vicinity. I haven't seen renderings, but the site is a go.

Think I found the site - no new permits yet, but a story on June 3rd said the hotel is coming by 2016.

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByLocationServlet?requestid=1&allbin=1015757&allstrt=BROADWAY&allnumbhous=1205

[NYguy]

Unfortunately, it looks like this is going to be a lame / boring / squat box.

http://www.durst.org/uploads/property_images/855_gallery_01.jpg

http://www.durst.org/uploads/property_images/855_gallery_02.jpg

http://www.rkf.com/rkf/lease-property-detail-picture.php?lease_property_id=453

http://www.visaeb-5.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/855-Ave.-of-Americas-book-ENGLISH-email.pdf


Could have been something better, but at least we're getting rid of that open sore on 6th.

[Tectonic]

No surprise, with Cook+Fox as the architect I expected something similar to 510 W 22nd & a continuation of the new boxes we've seen along 6th between 23rd & 42nd in the last decade.

510 W 22nd
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/01/11/business/Highline1/Highline1-articleLarge.jpg
Cook + Fox Architects

[reencharles]

Six years waiting ... For this? Unbelievable.

[hunser]

Meh, should have been at least 650ft/200m. NEXT.

[scalziand]

The only nice things I can say about this are that the base with the storefronts are kind of nice, and the rest of the tower isn't actively ugly.


NEXT.

[antinimby]

They chopped down a very nice looking building on the NE corner for this.

[Hypothalamus]

New York YIMBY:

Construction Update: 855 Sixth Avenue (http://www.yimbynews.com/2013/11/construction-update-855-sixth-avenue.html)
BY: NIKOLAI FEDAK ON NOVEMBER 18TH 2013 AT 7:30 AM

......
855 Sixth Avenue will be thoroughly mixed-use; the podium will hold retail and offices, while the tower component will be residential, with a total of 382 units. The office portion will come in at 120,000 square feet, and the retail will total 30,000 square feet; the actual skyscraper will stand 479′ tall.
.....

Permits (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=2&passjobnumber=121331102&passdocnumber=01) for the new building were approved in October, and equipment is active on-site; per signage, 855 Sixth Avenue should be finished by the spring of 2016.

http://www.yimbynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/85565.jpg

http://www.yimbynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/85567.jpg

http://www.yimbynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/85563.jpg

[Hypothalamus]

As of January 25th, 2014...
Photo Credit: EastMillinocket @ WNY (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13178&p=442373&viewfull=1#post442373)

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/11/clc1.jpg
©EastMillinocket

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/577/biku.jpg
©EastMillinocket

[Hypothalamus]

As of March 13th, 2014...
Photo Credit: j-biz (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=112248111&postcount=69)

Walked by here yesterday. It looks like excavation is complete and early foundation work is underway. The building has a really big footprint for how lame it's going to be.

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2347/13149975873_4680e7dd9c_b.jpg

[Hypothalamus]

Posted April 21st, 2014...
Photo Credit: Derek2k3 (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13178&p=445615&viewfull=1#post445615) @ WNY

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5097/13964659784_f712e043e2_o.jpg
©Derek2k3

More photos @ WNY (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13178&p=445615&viewfull=1#post445615)

[yankeesfan1000]

Tower crane is on site.

[sparkling]

Posted April 21st, 2014...
Photo Credit: Derek2k3 (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13178&p=445615&viewfull=1#post445615) @ WNY

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5097/13964659784_f712e043e2_o.jpg
©Derek2k3

More photos @ WNY (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13178&p=445615&viewfull=1#post445615)
One of the buildings in the background looks like the Bankroft building except for the roof that is lacking the little "spires".

[Hypothalamus]

As of June 1st, 2014...
Photo Credit: Tectonic (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13178&p=447180&viewfull=1#post447180)

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3880/14160135598_5b67c0a74a_b.jpg
©Tectonic


NEW YORK | 855 6th Ave | 479 FT | 43 FLOORS

(per zoning documents (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=4&passjobnumber=121997704&passdocnumber=01))

[NYguy]

October 21, 2014


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/157948127/large.jpg



http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/157948127/original.jpg

[chris08876]

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7549/15789962078_6a59f187f0_b.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7510/15789951308_4ac57fc3a4_b.jpg
Credit: kz1000ps at WiredNewYork

[Perklol]

Great project for that area. PATH train /Herald Square/ two Penn station. subway stops all in that area. :slob:

[chris08876]

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7565/16031102816_b7b236b60e_b.jpg
Credit: Tectonic ; http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13178&page=9&p=453063&viewfull=1#post453063

[NYguy]

January 23, 2015


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/158973816/original.jpg



http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/158973818/original.jpg



http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/158973819/original.jpg

[sparkling]

COOKFOX’s 855 Sixth Avenue Tops Off, Ties for City’s ‘Shortest Skyscraper (http://www.6sqft.com/construction-update-cookfoxs-855-sixth-avenue-tops-off-ties-for-citys-shortest-skyscraper/)

MARCH 18, 2015
ONDEL HYLTON
In the shadow of the Empire State Building, the concrete frame of 855 Sixth Avenue has quietly risen to its full 500-foot height. Spanning the full western blockfront of Sixth Avenue between West 30th and 31st Streets, the 41-story mixed-use tower, designed by COOKFOX Architects and co-developed by the Durst Organization and Fetner Properties, is poised to bring 190,000 square feet of commercial space and 375 rentals to the southern fringe of Herald Square later this year.

While unremarkable in design and imperceptible in the city’s skyline, the building’s small claim to fame may be that its 152-meter (slightly under 500 feet) height is sometimes regarded as the benchmark figure for defining a skyscraper. Therefore, statistically, 855 Sixth could be considered the shortest skyscraper in New York. Huzzah!

http://www.6sqft.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/855-Sixth-Avenue-855-Avenue-of-the-Americas-Durst-Fetner-NYC-8-1024x699.jpg

According to a required zoning diagram submitted to the New York City Department of Buildings by the architects of record, SLCE, 855 Sixth is 499.32 feet tall, just cracking the 152-meter cutoff, and tying it for the city’s shortest with the equally anonymous 650 Fifth Avenue. To make this “achievement” even more meaningless, the 152-meter standard isn’t universal. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), a global authority in defining criteria and gathering statistics on high-rises, uses the 150-meter mark (492 feet) as the manageable cutoff for providing accurate data on skyscrapers.

Nevertheless, we’ll use 855 Sixth’s height as a measuring stick to compare against a time when building beyond 500 feet was considered noteworthy. According to data from CTBUH, in 1950 only 61 buildings 500-feet or higher existed worldwide, 85 percent of which were in New York and Chicago, with only one located outside the United States. Today there are roughly 3,200 such towers worldwide, with only 20 percent within the Unites States. New York currently has 223 buildings above the figure, trailing only to Hong Kong which leads the world with 303 such towers. Furthermore, as we all should know, New York is experiencing an unprecedented high-rise boom with 44 skyscrapers in some form of construction underway, and another 108 on the drawing boards by our latest count.

855 Sixth Avenue‘s site is at the northern end of the city’s former Flower District, an area that has seen significant high-rise apartment and hotel development over the past 15 years. Its growth spurt was facilitated by a 1995 rezoning spanning both sides of Sixth Avenue from 23rd Street to 31st Street. The diminished flower market, which has flourished in the neighborhood since the 1890′s, has mostly been relegated to 28th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenue.

http://www.6sqft.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/855-Sixth-from-Empire-State-Building.jpg
The cleared construction site of 855 Sixth in 2012 from the 86th floor observatory of the Empire State Building © Joey Johanssen

http://www.6sqft.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/855-Sixth-Avenue-855-Avenue-of-the-Americas-Durst-Fetner-NYC-3.jpg
Unbuilt design for 855 Sixth Avenue designed by Costas Kondylis & Partners

Like many developments in the city with superlative titles, 855 Sixth has endured a musical chairs game of developers, lawsuits, foreclosures and re-designs. The majority of the development site consisted of seven low-slung buildings and a parking lot purchased in 2006 by Baruch Singer’s Herald Square Development for $117.5 miilion. In March 2007, Tessler Developments and the Chetrit Group purchased the site for $140 million, according to The New York Observer, and unveiled plans for a faceted 40-story mixed use tower designed by Costas Kondylis & Partners.

Upon the collapse of the market in 2008, the Tessler/Chetrit team defaulted on their iStar Financial loan and the site was picked up by Durst Fetner Residential. In 2011, the Wall Street Journal uncovered that the team would build a 56-story tower designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli and Cook + Fox, anchored by a 250-room Ian Schrager-operated hotel to be called the Public New York.

The hotel deal collapsed in 2012, citing that the Schrager/Durst-Fetner partnership “couldn’t make the financials of the deal work.” Durst-Fetner realigned the project to its current configuration consisting of a commercial base containing 120,000 square feet of office space and 70,000 square feet of retail, as well as a setback rental tower spanning floors 8 through 40. Separate entrances, lobbies, and elevators are provided for residential and commercial tenants. The commercial podium’s roof will serve as a terrace to office tenants, and The Post recently reported that Nike has expressed some interest in leasing roughly 100,000 square feet of office space.

The 375-unit rental tower is deeply set back from Sixth Avenue, allowing it to capture southern views past the neighboring Beatrice/Eventi Hotel tower. The 41st floor will feature a media room, children’s playroom, party room, residents’ lounge, and a roof deck capturing close-up views of the Empire State Building and skyline. A swimming pool and basketball court are also provided.

[chris08876]

http://www.6sqft.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/855-Sixth-from-Empire-State-Building.jpg

Love this shot. As many of these smaller 4-6 story structures get redeveloped in this area, the increase height will add so much to it. Just a messy clusterf*** and its great. :D

[chris08876]

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7684/17124453726_b94f7ce033_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/s6eiub)
New York City (https://flic.kr/p/s6eiub) by LE Digital Service (https://www.flickr.com/people/115086583@N05/), on Flickr

[Eidolon]

Google may have paid Nike to leave its Chelsea building (http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150428/REAL_ESTATE/150429864/google-may-have-paid-nike-to-leave-its-chelsea-building)
April 28, 2015
By Daniel Geiger
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/storyimage/CN/20150428/REAL_ESTATE/150429864/AR/0/855-Sixth-Ave.&maxw=770

Nike is moving its New York City headquarters from the epicenter of midtown south to the Penn Station area, an emerging neighborhood for companies seeking office space.

The Beaverton, Ore.-based athletic-wear company has leased 147,000 square feet at 855 Sixth Ave., between West 30th and West 31st streets. It will take the entire office portion of the 42-story mixed-use tower, which will have residential space above and ground-floor retail. The Durst Organization is constructing the 570,000-square-foot building. The property will be ready for occupancy in early 2016.

Nike will relocate to its new office from 111 Eighth Ave., a Chelsea building owned and largely occupied by Google. In recent years, Google has made an effort to clear office tenants from that property by offering to buy them out of their leases in order to allow itself to expand there. Recently, Google offered such a deal to WebMD, which is moving to 395 Hudson St. It wasn’t immediately clear if Nike received such a buyout offer to move.

Nike will occupy floors three through six at 855 Sixth Ave. and a portion of the building's second floor. The asking rent for the space was $78 per square foot. The lease is for 11 years. The space will feature sought-after amenities that have prompted demand for newly constructed space in recent years, such as high ceilings and additional perks. The sixth floor in the property has double-height ceilings and a 15,000-square-foot outdoor roof deck exclusively for Nike’s use.

[chris08876]

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8828/17307797649_f8996dfab8_b.jpg
Credit: Tectonic (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13178&page=10&p=456154&viewfull=1#post456154)

[chris08876]

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5567d7ade4b07d3d31ab5717/t/5596fdcae4b00f5f813c505b/1435958732591/?format=750w
Credit: Tectonic (http://tectonicphoto.com/blog/2015/7/3/855-6th-avenue)

[artspook]

OMG . .
the unbuilt Kondylis design version . .
was a masterpiece compared to this . .
atrocious thing.

[Hypothalamus]

Ouch -- the zoning looks messed up, too.

[photoLith]

That tall building on the left of the last photo is absolutely hideous. Looks unfinished.

[sparkling]

http://www.yimbynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/IMG_2508-855-6th-Avenue-UC-2015-10-small-wmark.jpg

At Long Last, EŌS At 855 Sixth Avenue Is Nearing Completion

VITALI OGORODNIKOV
NOVEMBER 2, 2015

After nearly a decade of anticipation, false starts and design changes, 855 6th Avenue is nearing completion. The 479-foot-tall tower has finally taken its place on the burgeoning Midtown South skyline, and upon completion it will fill the missing link between Herald Square to the north and the hybrid Chelsea/NoMad district to the south. The Durst Organization is developing the 41 story mixed-use project, which consists of significant residential, retail, and office components.

Continue Reading (http://www.yimbynews.com/2015/11/at-long-last-eos-at-855-sixth-avenue-is-nearing-completion.html)

[chris08876]

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5567d7ade4b07d3d31ab5717/t/568ba36005f8e2af80220f8a/1451991904946/?format=750w

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5567d7ade4b07d3d31ab5717/t/568ba18c57eb8d622b835d6e/1451991437182/?format=750w
Credit: Tectonic (http://tectonicphoto.com/blog/2016/1/5/construction-photos-eos-855-avenue-of-the-americas-nyc)

[PeterQM]

Housing Lottery Commences for EŌS, Live in NYC’s Shortest Skyscraper for $566/Month
By Ondel Hylton
February 8, 2016
http://www.6sqft.com/housing-lottery-commences-for-eos-live-in-nycs-shortest-skyscraper-for-566month/ ("http://www.6sqft.com/housing-lottery-commences-for-eos-live-in-nycs-shortest-skyscraper-for-566month/")

The affordable housing lottery for the Durst Organization‘s nearly finished rental tower EŌS at 855 Sixth Avenue launches today, according to the NYC HPD. One year ago, 6sqft reported on the 42-story structure’s topping out, which at exactly 500 feet makes it officially tied as the shortest skyscraper in the city. Now, with full leasing slated to begin this spring, the application process for the 75 newly constructed, below-market rate apartments set aside for low-income residents is open. Rents in the Midtown West tower will range from $566/month studios to $930/month two-bedroom units.

http://www.6sqft.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/855-Sixth-Avenue-EOS-100-West-31st-Street-Durst-6.jpg

http://www.6sqft.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/855-Sixth-Avenue-affordable-housing-lottery.jpg

http://www.6sqft.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/EOS-855-Sixth-Avenue-100-West-31st-Street-1024x642.jpg

More info and images in the post here. (http://www.6sqft.com/housing-lottery-commences-for-eos-live-in-nycs-shortest-skyscraper-for-566month/)

[chris08876]

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ag-17tZlnY/VzqhtIeve9I/AAAAAAAAQ6I/BlT_oKrRT7A_madbk1ctUUpS8Pc93QOPgCLcB/s1600/DSCN0349.JPG
Credit: Urbanvsmodernism (http://urbanismvsmodernism.blogspot.com/2016/05/newark-and-new-york-city-5-16-2016.html?view=sidebar)

[chris08876]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cj-PU1UUUAAEzzE.jpg:large
Credit: https://twitter.com/tectonicphoto

[mrnyc]

was there even an architect for this or did the construction guise just throw it up?