NEW YORK | 555 West 33rd St - World Product Centre | 1,011 FT / 308 M | 60 FLOORS

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

I wasn't asking anyone here, it was retorical

Then do us a favor, and keep those questions to yourself.

Originally Posted by Antares41

A smart move to go forward with the commitments you have and secure financing that aligned with the level of support.

Now, in the short term we may not get the skyline altering supertall skyscraper we all drool over, but, by securing NYC place in the whole Medical Mart arena, and, if it is successful, I am sure the demand from the healthcare industry will create further development and perhaps the supertall we all been expecting.

Keep in mind that Gary Barnet & Extell isn't the actual developer of the WPC, Extell just happened to have a site to fit the needs. It could simply be that Extell wants to go in another direction rather than try to wait out the commitments needed to get financing for this particular tower. Likewise, the already commited partners don't want to wait forever. This was a pre 9/11 vision, pre-Hudson Yards zoning, and with office space availble the way it is now (they would just need a fifth of the space of the new tower) it came down to how much can get done, how soon. And of course, costs.

So in short, look for a more conventional office tower on the site if this doesn't go through. The site is cleared for development, and comes with it's own subway station (opening in 2013). It would take 3 to 4 years to get anything built there anyway, so its as prime a site as you can get for development in Manhattan.

[NYC4Life]

The WPC on this site may get scrapped, but surely another big tower will takes its place. In the end, it's a win-win situation. If in fact WPC makes a move elsewhere, we can only invision that perhaps a better and taller tower will rise on the site. As NYGuy already mentioned, the West Side is hot real estate and one of the areas specifically zoned for large towers. Midtown will only keep expanding west and one reason why we have the 7 subway line extending to that area. Optimism here should remain high whether or not the current proposal with the WPC is cancelled.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by NYC4Life

In the end, it's a win-win situation. If in fact WPC makes a move elsewhere, we can only invision that perhaps a better and taller tower will rise on the site.

Since the WPC was originally planned to go near the WTC, it would be nice if they actually got space in the new WTC. You've got the China Center moving into the Freedom Tower. Plenty of space left to go around when you think of the towers that have no tenants yet (though completion dates could be a problem there also). If not, there's the nearly completed 11 Times Square available, though I'm not sure if it's the right environment fot the WPC.

[Dac150]

I would actually be in favor of sacrificing this tower to have the medical mart housed in the World Trade Center; when you think about it from a logistical standpoint it makes the most sense. I know you’re still in the city, but quite honestly that part of town is quite barren and bleak (at least for now). Having this tower just pop up out of nowhere with no real direct connection to Midtown would be pretty awkward. I know you have to start somewhere, but in all honestly I think something like this (Medical Mart) would be better suited in a more ‘built up’ part of town, namely Lower Manhattan. The development of this whole area (Hudson Yards) is not going to take off in full at least until the next boom, which quite honestly could be several years off. Tenants who are in the market now should be directed to towers which have current means of development (WTC and others).

[Zapatan]

^I suppose, it's possible it could be best to start building smaller office towers and apartment highrises before adding a monster like this to the area. I assume a large office tower would still be constructed there in the future though. Hopefully it would break the 8-900 foot range

[Dac150]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

^I suppose, it's possible it could be best to start building smaller office towers and apartment highrises before adding a monster like this to the area. I assume a large office tower would still be constructed there in the future though. Hopefully it would break the 8-900 foot range

You’re missing the point; it has nothing to do with the size of a tower but all to do with the demand to warrant it. The point that I’m trying to make is that demand should be channeled into current developments within the city which have means to amount.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Dac150

I would actually be in favor of sacrificing this tower to have the medical mart housed in the World Trade Center; when you think about it from a logistical standpoint it makes the most sense. I know you’re still in the city, but quite honestly that part of town is quite barren and bleak (at least for now). Having this tower just pop up out of nowhere with no real direct connection to Midtown would be pretty awkward.

I woldn't call it awkward. The skyline will fill in around it, just look a few blocks to the north at the residential towers rising around the Javits Center. One of them had to be first, and the planned Girasole (also a 1,000 footer) would be right accross the street from this tower. The planned 2013 opening of the subway station makes this all relevant now. It won't be the same "far" west side that it is today. The saying, "build it, and they will come" is especially true here.

[Dac150]

All true, when you take into consideration the new subway line, the Javits Center and Penn Station, there should be enough around to fuel this sort of development. I would just hate for these developers to build for the sake of building and we’ll end up having a couple 11 Times Square scenarios only on a tad larger scale.

I’m all for development, but it needs to be done the right way and with the proper backing. Aside from the medical mart, I haven’t heard of any deals brewing between the developers of the other potential towers and tenants.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Dac150

All true, when you take into consideration the new subway line, the Javits Center and Penn Station, there should be enough around to fuel this sort of development. I would just hate for these developers to build for the sake of building.

That's not going to happen. No one builds "spec" towers anymore. 11 Times Square is the exception to the rule, and the WTC doesn't really count.

[NYguy]

Right on cue...

http://www.observer.com/2009/real-es...line-extension

Breakthrough on the No. 7 Line Extension

By Eliot Brown
December 21, 2009

New private development on the far West Side may be at a standstill amid the recession, but public investment is tunneling ahead.

The mayor's office put out an announcement Monday morning, with accompanying video below, that the machines digging the tunnels for the new 1.5-mile extension of the No. 7 line have reached the cavern for the station on West 34th Street.

The extension brings the No. 7 line from Times Square to the base of the Javits Center at 11th Avenue, and it was intended to help spur development throughout the far West Side (and to bring spectators to the Olympic and Jets Stadium, back when the line was approved in 2005).

The announcement is no major milestone, but does serve as a reminder that the project is actually moving forward, even as almost all the so-called underutilized lots that were expected to sprout office buildings and condo towers overhead remain as parking lots or auto shops.

The line is slated for completion in 2013 or so, and it was initially slated to have two stations—the one at 34th Street and the other at 10th Avenue and 41st Street. The latter was removed for cost reasons in 2007, meaning the city is now spending $2 billion for a line extension with just one stop. The construction industry has been pushing the city and M.T.A. to add the second stop back in ever since (it was previously estimated to cost another $500 million), and recently the Real Estate Board of New York has been making more noise about the lack of logic in omitting the stop. The cost and disruption of adding a second station after the tunnels are all built and sealed up is considered so high as to be prohibitive.


• Video Link
Pretty cool watching the machine break through...


curbed.com

[NYguy]

I think it's safe to classify this as a "never built". When it's revived, it'll be a different proposal, not the World Product Center which it was designed for.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...8wqcpjfgk3srJM

Unhealthy market KOs health products bldg.

By LOIS WEISS
December 23, 2009

Gary Barnett's proposed 60-story skyscraper on W. 34th Street -- cater-corner to the Javits Center -- is apparently kaput. The anchor tenant for the 1.5-million-foot tower, the World Product Centre, was supposed to take 1 million square feet, but will take advantage of falling rents and lease 300,000 feet elsewhere.

The World Product Centre was proposed as a showcase for healthcare products. It boasted obtaining $100 million from Hewlett-Packard and commitments from a number of subtenants -- but obviously not enough to fill the new building.

As we reported in 2007, WPC founder Israel Green signed a letter of intent for the 1 million feet. Barnett's Extell Development had architects Kohn Pedersen Fox design a 1,011-foot-tall addition to the skyline; FX Fowle Architects was hired to design the WPC innards. The Greater New York Hospital Association has also been involved in the project as a "joint marketer."

If he doesn't end up in a court battle, Barnett might earn fees while developing or fitting out the alternate location.

A lease for 300,000 feet would fit 300 to 500 companies rather than the original scheme for 1,800.

"The advantages are we can deliver in 18 months and be considerably less expensive for our tenants," WPC CEO John Strong told a Nashville newspaper.

Strong, Green, Barnett and the GNYHA did not return calls for comment. Neither did John Powers of CB Richard Ellis, who acted as broker for WPC on the original deal.

As recently as July, WPC bragged it would break ground in November. But the Department of Buildings has a Stop Work order on the site for working without permits in September. Not one permit has been obtained since early 2008 and those were for scaffolding. No "New Building" filing is under review.

Extell also owes an interest-only $60 million mortgage to New York Community Bank on the site that is due on July 1, 2010, but which documents say could be extended.

[Dac150]

Well I’m sorry to see it turn out this way; this in my mind was one of the more ‘sure bets’ if you want to phrase it that way. However, I’m sure something else down the line will amount.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Dac150

Well I’m sorry to see it turn out this way; this in my mind was one of the more ‘sure bets’ if you want to phrase it that way.

So much so that they couldn't wait to sign enought tenants to kick it (the WPC) off the ground.

However, with the WPC opening - probably with a short term lease that could give Extell time to sign more tenants (assuming they aren't already planning a more conventional tower) - having the WPC already established could help both causes.

A lease for 300,000 feet would fit 300 to 500 companies rather than the original scheme for 1,800.

Somewhere down the line they would need the room to expand. But with the completion of the subway expansion, that site will be targeted by someone sooner or later. I don't think it will remain available long term. And we know Extell wants to build!


Just had to add this from curbed.com

Standing 1,000 feet tall in the wastelands surrounding the Javits Center and Hudson Yards, developer Extell's World Product Centre made for quite the flashy renderings. Alas, that's as far as this big guy will make it, the Post's Lois Weiss writes. Call it an educated guess. The anchor tenant in the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed skyscraper, a healthcare products marketer, has pulled out, and the scheduled groundbreaking has come and gone with nary a mention nor new permit filed. (In fact, there's a Stop Work Order on the property.) The site used to house the Copacabana, and now its replacement is doing the cha-cha right out the door. Put 'em in a body bag, Johnny.

[NYguy]

World Product Centre

1.5 Million Sq Feet Tower


ARCHITECTS:

KOHN PEDERSON FOX ARCHITECTS (Exterior)

FXFOWLE ARCHITECTS (Interior)














http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/rele...TRE%5B1%5D.jpg

[Dac150]

It’s funny how in my mind what looked to be a sure bet turned out to be the first to go. Oh well, there will be without a question more to come in better times. That entire area is a ticking time bomb for a boom once the atmosphere calls for it. You can say, it’s the final frontier in Manhattan.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

i dont think its fair the cast this one to the side just yet...maybe when the economy gets better it'll get built...

[Dac150]

Originally Posted by SkyscrapersOfNewYork

i dont think its fair the cast this one to the side just yet...maybe when the economy gets better it'll get built...

No doubt something will get built on this site, but it’s not going to be this.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by SkyscrapersOfNewYork

i dont think its fair the cast this one to the side just yet...maybe when the economy gets better it'll get built...

The World Product Center is what this particular tower was designed for. As you know or should know, the World Product Center has decided to open elsewhere in Manhattan so they can open sooner and take advantage of the current Manhattan real estate market. As it stands now, this tower won't be built, but obviously an office tower is planned to rise on the site.

[NYguy]

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...LSE/100109946#

Manhattan medical mart tower scrapped

Plans for a huge medical-product trade center backed by GNYHA Ventures have been greatly scaled back, more than a year after the grandiose project was announced. The World Product Centre was to have been a 1.5 million-square-foot medical marketplace anchoring a new 60-story tower on the east side of 11th Avenue between West 33rd and West 34th Streets. The tower, to be built near the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, was also to be the new home of GNYHA.

The center's backers now say they will lease only 300,000 to 350,000 square feet initially, which they hope to secure by the end of March. They're scouting Manhattan for a site where more space could later be leased for expansion. They say that the initial downshift will enable them to open within 18 months instead of in 2013 as originally planned, giving the project a huge advantage over medical markets proposed for Nashville and Cleveland.

“For the past 15 months, we've been hearing what people want, and this is in response. Companies want to see something on an earlier timeline,” says John Strong, president of World Product Centre Marketing.

The concept behind a medical mart is to build a “neutral and transparent” location for medical device vendors where doctors and health facilities personnel can try their wares, says Mr. Strong, rather than the usual resort setting.

“They are looking for neutral locations where they can conduct training and education,” he adds, given federal scrutiny of ties between suppliers and doctors

[Zerton]

Ah, I was looking forward to this.