They could have built a short (500-600 foot), fat box here. When the office market was booming and $125/sf rents were common, Macklowe switched the project from residential/hotel to office. I saw the proposed glass box, and it sucked. Fortunately, the economy collapsed, and the best use for the site now is a tall thin hotel/condo, as was planned originally.
The square footage here would easily enable a 900+ foot tower. (Isn't the Four Seasons planned for downtown expected to be around 915 feet?) The uppermost apartments would rise at least 200 to 250 feet above the GM and Four Seasons, which are the only structures that would otherwise block the park views. In addition, the views of Midtown and lower Manhattan would be amazing.
Last edited by RobertWalpole; Jan 9, 2011 at 4:08 AM.
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