NEW YORK | 200 Greenwich - 2 WTC | 1,270 FT | 80 FLOORS | ON HOLD

[chris08876]

None of us here are at the negotiating table. We will have to wait and see. I know SSC has a couple of insiders, but I doubt they are at the table with Silverstein.

I guess if we are speculating, I'd like some sort of news by mid summer, and the tower rising in early 2016 for a 2019 opening.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by RonV

Any ideas on when we might know if the NewsCorp deal goes through or not? What's the likelihood that it will or won't happen?

I think it will happen if only for the fact that there is a timetable to work with here, and there are few options that can be ready as quickly as tower two. They've already looked at the Hudson Yards, and decided against that. 15 Penn Plaza would first require the closure of the hotel, then demolition. One Vanderbilt is not a very large tower by New York standards, and even if so, TD Bank will be the anchor tenant there.


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/11/ny...-say.html?_r=0

News Corporation and 21st Century Fox, two giant media companies controlled by Rupert Murdoch, are considering building a joint headquarters in a new 88-story skyscraper at the World Trade Center, real estate executives and government officials said this week.

The companies, which include Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, have been in discussions for months with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site and the developer Larry A. Silverstein...

Earlier in the year, Mr. Murdoch’s companies looked and passed on the Related Companies’ Hudson Yards project on the Far West Side of Manhattan. Mr. Murdoch’s companies are now housed at 1211 and 1185 Avenue of the Americas.

The discussions on the trade center are shrouded in a confidentiality agreement, but several executives who have been briefed on the plans say both sides are spending an enormous amount of time and money assessing the feasibility of the project.

The talks at the trade center began earlier this year. Initially, Mr. Murdoch’s companies had wanted to gain control of the site from Mr. Silverstein and build a smaller tower designed by their own architect. That proved undoable for various reasons.

The companies are now talking about taking about half of the building — 1.5 million square feet — designed by Mr. Foster, although they still may bring in their own architect for the changes.

Given that the foundation has already been built, the two sides are assessing whether the structure can still accommodate the changes they want for television studios.

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/21st-c...20150424-00635

The final tower planned at the World Trade Center redevelopment could be dramatically altered under a proposal being discussed by 21st Century Fox Inc. and News Corp, which are considering a move to the site, according to people familiar with the talks.

The media companies and developer Larry Silverstein have brought in avant-garde Danish architect Bjarke Ingels to redesign 2 World Trade Center in the event of a move. Mr. Ingels, co-designer of Google Inc.'s planned new headquarters expansion in Silicon Valley, would replace renowned British architect Norman Foster as lead designer for 2 World Trade Center, these people said.

A deal is far from certain, as the companies are also considering a renewal of space at their midtown headquarters, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, which was built in 1973 as an expansion of Rockefeller Center. They expect to make a decision in coming months, these people said.

Even though the companies' current headquarters lease doesn't expire until 2020, it takes years to plan and construct a skyscraper.

Mr. Ingels, a young and relatively obscure architect when Mr. Foster first designed the tower a decade ago, has quickly vaulted to prominence in the field. Eccentric and fast-talking, he is known for abnormally-shaped buildings and sustainable design.

His design would keep the World Trade Center tower at about the same height of the 1,270-foot design by Mr. Foster, and it would be about the same 3 million square foot size, people familiar with the design said.

[Zapatan]

Why don't they just have Foster redesign it?

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

Why don't they just have Foster redesign it?

Maybe they felt better bringing in their own architect, maybe Foster didn't want his vision changed, or maybe even Foster didn't want to be in another Libesking/Childs marriage. Who knows...

[RonV]

Is this the same Foster who had one of the designs that was turned down in the early 2000s for the WTC?



I really liked that design personally. I thought it struck an interesting, nice tribute to the towers & also in a subtle way, what happened there, while also making it a new interesting structure. And it was very tall. I think some called it the "kissing towers". I really liked it. I find it much more unique & visually interesting than what we're getting. Oh well. Just wondering if it's the same Foster who designed 2WTC that we're talking about today.

If the deal with NewsCorp goes through, I just hope for the love of god that they don't do another glass-encased tapering tower. I am just not a fan of all-glass, tapered towers I find them dull-looking & just too antiseptically corporate looking. I get that it will have to suit it's purpose & be practical but meaning & location of the site surely require something more inspiring than another bland looking glass building that isn't even that tall or visually interesting. Architecture should be about partnership between the functional & the visually compelling, especially at the WTC of all places. I like Foster's design for 2WTC I think the design is unique & interesting, I thought with 1WTC too much got jumbled up & there was no single vision which is what kind of made the tower underwhelming in the end. Hopefully they can redeem that with 2wtc.

[Plokoon11]

I loved that Foster design for the twins, however I couldn't quite figure out how they would fit an elevator core in it, since the bottom part goes super thin.

[RonV]

Originally Posted by Plokoon11

I loved that Foster design for the twins, however I couldn't quite figure out how they would fit an elevator core in it, since the bottom part goes super thin.

So it's the same Foster? I loved that design too, it reminded me of the Twins without being obviously so, I thought it was quite a brilliant design. And it would have caught & held the eye too. Good point about the elevator core, not sure how that would have worked, but I'm sure they had it figured out someway. Maybe they were going to taper the elevator core as the building got narrower at the base. Who knows.

I also liked the THINK design, but Foster's Kissing Towers was by far my favorite of all the designs that were submitted years back.

[Dale]

I always suspected the Foster towers were a coy illusion to buckling towers.

Bizarre, if the case.

[RonV]

I think some people interpreted them as buckling, which is maybe part of why they weren't considered for the final design.Personally I didn't see the design as buckling I thought they were kind of symbiotically kissing but that's just me I guess. Ah well. I just wondered if it was the same Foster who we're talking about with 2WTC.

[JR Ewing]

As per Steve Cuozzo of the NYP, Fox has signed a LOI with Silverstein to occupy 1.3m sf of 200 Greenwich. Our buddy Zappo's alter ego is already lamenting this as "awful" on SSP. While Foster's design is awesome, I can envision a proposal by BIG which blows it out if the water, lads! Bring it on! I'd rather see a BIG tower at 200 Greenwich than see Fox renew on 6th.

[Zapatan]

Eerr... anyway, I'm happy something's at least getting built. I guess I have to disagree with my "alterego".

I remain cautiously optimistic. Ingles might design cool buildings but likely not the caliber of Foster's old 2WTC.

[CityGuy87]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

Eerr... anyway, I'm happy something's at least getting built. I guess I have to disagree with my "alterego".

I remain cautiously optimistic. Ingles might design cool buildings but likely not the caliber of Foster's old 2WTC.

Whatever Ingles designs, doesn't it have to be the same overall shape since the foundation has already been built?

[chris08876]

At least now we have an anchor. Finally.

[NYguy]

http://nypost.com/2015/06/02/news-co...e-center-move/

News Corp. and 21st Century Fox take step toward World Trade Center move

By Steve Cuozzo
June 2, 2015

News Corp. and 21st Century Fox, the separate media giants controlled by Rupert Murdoch, have taken a big step toward possibly moving to the World Trade Center.

The two companies on Tuesday signed a non-binding but detailed letter of intent (LOI) with developer Larry Silverstein to anchor 2 World Trade Center, the media firms confirmed. The 80-plus-story skyscraper would complete a quartet of new jumbos built to replace the Twin Towers’ office space destroyed on 9/11.

“The new headquarters would provide 21st Century Fox and News Corp. with a range of efficiencies as well as the flexibility for future growth, while helping cement Lower Manhattan as a dynamic new hub for media,” the companies said in a joint statement.

“While no final decisions have been made, we look forward to continuing to work with Silverstein Properties on the design and terms of our lease arrangement.”

Separately, Larry Silverstein called the tentative agreement “a great milestone” for the WTC and downtown, adding, “A decision by 21st Century Fox and News Corp. to move to the new World Trade Center would cap a seismic shift that has taken place in Lower Manhattan over the past decade.”
News Corp. and 21st Century Fox are currently based at 1185 and 1211 Sixth Ave., where leases for both companies expire in 2020. Those leases might be renewed if a final deal can’t be struck downtown.

A decision to move or stay will likely be made by the end of this year — necessary to plan for the future of thousands of employees, and to work out economic and contractual details of either option.

But the LOI is a meaningful step forward in complex negotiations that have gone on for months between the media firms, Silverstein and the Port Authority, which owns the WTC land. “Although it’s non-binding, having all the basic terms in place will accelerate the pace for both sides,” a source said.

Under the proposed deal, 21st Century Fox and News Corp. would occupy about 1.3 million square feet on lower levels of the 2.8 million-square-foot tower under separate leases. The cost of the new tower is unknown, but each of the WTC’s three other towers costs, or is costing, about $1,000 per square foot.

The parties have tapped cutting-edge Danish architect Bjarke Ingels to design the tower, which would have the address of 200 Greenwich St. and rise immediately north of the nearly finished WTC Transportation Hub. The building would have to accommodate highly specific needs for studios, newsrooms and open floor plans — as well as some 100,000 square feet of shopping space to be controlled by WTC retail operator Westfield.

The architect’s Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) also designed the Durst Organization’s dramatic, pyramidal apartment and retail project on West 57th Street between 11th and 12th avenues.

Ingels’ 2 WTC design would replace an earlier one for the site by British architect Norman Foster, which was intended mainly for financial firms. But Ingels’ tower would still fit in with site planner Daniel Libeskind’s original location and height rules.

News Corp. divisions at 1211 and 1185 Sixth Ave. include Dow Jones, which publishes the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and News America Marketing.

Divisions of 21st Century Fox include Fox News Channel, Fox Sports and some film and broadcast television units.

News Corp.’s HarperCollins Publishers will remain at 195 Broadway, where it moved from Midtown a few years ago.

[drumz0rz]

Interesting... So if this deal goes through we may get an entirely different tower than what we've seen so far.

I'm curious to see what Mr. Ingels comes up with. He'll be limited greatly by the fact that the building has already been constructed to ground level. The shape of the core can't really be changed at this point.

Also, to accommodate FOX's request for studio space + newsroom + open floor plan, AND 100,000 sqft of retail he's going to have to design a sizable base.

I just hope it doesn't result in a reduction of height. I guarantee you if this goes through we lose the diamonds though.

[CHAPINM1]

Originally Posted by drumz0rz

Interesting... So if this deal goes through we may get an entirely different tower than what we've seen so far.

I'm curious to see what Mr. Ingels comes up with. He'll be limited greatly by the fact that the building has already been constructed to ground level. The shape of the core can't really be changed at this point.

Also, to accommodate FOX's request for studio space + newsroom + open floor plan, AND 100,000 sqft of retail he's going to have to design a sizable base.

I just hope it doesn't result in a reduction of height. I guarantee you if this goes through we lose the diamonds though.

This may even result of a height increase. It appears with the new tenant things are actually getting serious. They are looking to get as much usable space as possible, translating into less vanity height and related BS. Meaning at 1,300 feet there may 'actually' be an office. Really hoping we can get this past the 1,362' threshold.

[jayden]

I am excited that we have moved one step closer to securing an anchor tenant for 2WTC, but like everyone else said, whether the original design is vastly maintained is TBD.

However, when weighing everything as is, I'd much rather have a redesigned tower that will STILL BE THE SECOND TALLEST on the site than nothing at all.

Anyway, anyone have recent work by Ingels?

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by CityGuy87

Whatever Ingles designs, doesn't it have to be the same overall shape since the foundation has already been built?

Yes, It will have the same base and same height. The issue is the design, though I'm just happy to see this moving forward.

[Zapatan]

Originally Posted by CHAPINM1

This may even result of a height increase. It appears with the new tenant things are actually getting serious. They are looking to get as much usable space as possible, translating into less vanity height and related BS. Meaning at 1,300 feet there may 'actually' be an office. Really hoping we can get this past the 1,362' threshold.

If they are adding 100ks square feet of space maybe it will actually end up as high as the old 2WTC.

I doubt there will be an actual office that high considering they stopped a little past 1100' in the old design, but even pushing 1200 with a nice top reaching 1362 would be great.

I'm just scared it's not going to fit with the WTC considering well... it's Ingles.

[NYguy]

Ingels’ 2 WTC design would replace an earlier one for the site by British architect Norman Foster, which was intended mainly for financial firms.
But Ingels’ tower would still fit in with site planner Daniel Libeskind’s original location and height rules.

The media companies and developer Larry Silverstein have brought in avant-garde Danish architect Bjarke Ingels to redesign 2 World Trade Center....
His design would keep the World Trade Center tower at about the same height of the 1,270-foot design by Mr. Foster, and it would be about the same
3 million square foot size, people familiar with the design said.

It will be great to have these two towers rising at the same time, and maybe even 125 Greenwhich as well.

Originally Posted by jayden

Anyway, anyone have recent work by Ingels?

A recent contribution to Manhattan...



http://designblendz.com/create/bjark...-street-tower/







jag9889