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

[chris08876]

BlackRock chooses Hudson Yards for new home

Financial giant BlackRock has settled on 50 Hudson Yards for its new Manhattan headquarters, sources told The Post.

Although both a BlackRock rep and a source at Hudson Yards developer insisted that “nothing is signed,” a different source familiar with the negotiations said, “An announcement might come as early as next week.”

BlackRock is currently based at Park Avenue Plaza (55 E. 52nd St) and 40 E. 52nd St., where it has a combined 700,000 square feet.

It has been eying a new home with close to 1 million square feet.

The company would be the anchor tenant of the planned, 2.3 million square-foot 50 Hudson Yards tower on Tenth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th streets — just north of Related’s fast-rising 30 Hudson Yards, where Time Warner and KKR have signed deals to move their headquarters.

The move by BlackRock wouldn’t occur until about 2023, when its current leases are up. But the impending loss from East Midtown of a tenant as important as BlackRock would be yet another blow to the once-premier Midtown office district, which the city is trying to rezone to prevent further defections.

BlackRock, headed by its founder, Laurence D. Fink, is the world’s largest asset manager and oversees over $5 trillion in assets.

After eliminating the World Trade Center as a possible new home, BlackRock has been reported to have had talks with Related Cos. and partner Oxford for 50 Hudson Yards and also with Tishman Speyer for its proposed supertall tower nearby, called The Spiral.

But it’s now settled on 50 Hudson Yards, our sources said.

==================================
http://nypost.com/2016/12/01/blackro...-hudson-yards/

[TechTalkGuy]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Thing is, the whole cities booming, the surroundings next to this are booming, but this tower.... this parcel... is just misfortune.

For me, the WTC site is not Rockefeller Center with the ice skating rink, tree and all. It's not Times Square. It's not fun to be around. The shopping is bland and boring (not any individual stores mind you, just the atmosphere).

I love shopping downtown personally. Century 21 is a store that I enjoy.

Face it, Midtown is where the excitement and energy is at.
The Hudson Yards has tremendous potential I feel.

Originally Posted by chris08876

For me, I just want the site to feel normal again. Essentially, not a construction zone.

That's part of the negative feelings I feel.
It's been a disaster for over 15 years.
Oh sure, we got new skyscrapers, but I really want those twin towers back!
It's too painful to see that empty hole in the skyline no matter how many skyscrapers surround ground zero.

Originally Posted by chris08876

Greed has poisoned the site. From the chopping of 1 WTC's cladded spire, to the greedy rents being asked for sq-ft in this tower (2wtc), amidst much better rates over at HY, there is no symbolism, only greed from Silverstein.

Well, he gets what he deserves I suppose.

[Mr Saturn64]

Well... human greed knows no bounds, especially in a city with as much money toward it as New York. And even if One World Trade Center doesn't have the cladding it was supposed to, and even if the design for this building changed and isn't apparently coming up, the World Trade Center has still been resurrected in a sense, even if Hudson Yards is becoming more prominent. And the 9/11 Memorial was very well done. The WTC will always be a saddening place to be around, regardless of how construction in the area goes.

[NYguy]

There is nothing wrong with this site. There us nothing unfortunate about this site. People always forget how long it took for this site to fill up. It will take time for Downtown to absorb this much office space. Period. It would take time for 10 msf of office space to be built and absorbed anywhere. There was a reason Steve Ross got the first two towers at Hudson Yards full as fast as Related did. He was prepared to take a loss there to get the greater goal of rebuilding over the railyards, where residential development will more than make up for it.

I want to see this completed as much as anyone, but I'm also grounded in reality. The city isn't going anywhere. It'll be built.


Meanwhile, here's a look at the 2 WTC PATH entrance...


DECEMBER 3, 2016

[citybooster]

Thanks NYguy for your perspective. I agree, in a few years it will be worth the wait. Look at all the residential developments that will spring up or are starting up in the Lower Manhattan area.... while I think a wonderful neighborhood will come out of Hudson Yards, this in its own way will be pretty damn awesome too.

[mrnyc]

am i the only one who likes the big stacked boxes? somehow that design is fitting for ny. i dk about in that particular spot and i just wish it was taller, but all in all its impressive. add some public access up there and i'm in.

since blackrock went elsewhere i guess we will have to be patient. i hate that this will prolong construction at the wtc too, but its well worth the result i think. if anything is fairly easy to avoid its the wtc site and bpc for that matter. i wouldnt spend any more or less time around there when its all built out anyway.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

am i the only one who likes the big stacked boxes? somehow that design is fitting for ny. i dk about in that particular spot and i just wish it was taller, but all in all its impressive. add some public access up there and i'm in.

I find this to be the more interesting of the two designs, and closer to giving the Freedom Tower a "sibling". I liked Foster's design also. But remove the diamond top, and it's just that, a tower without any distinguishing features. Either one could work in the skyline, and there are a lot of similarities between the two, but I think the newer version is better.

Foster is designing 50 Hudson Yards, (and his 425 Park in under construction). So we won't be without large Foster office towers.

[Michagain]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

am i the only one who likes the big stacked boxes? somehow that design is fitting for ny. i dk about in that particular spot and i just wish it was taller, but all in all its impressive. add some public access up there and i'm in.

A lot of folks like 'grace' in their architecture, so this design is jarring to that preference. I can understand it. Personally though, I like the 'machinism' of the new 2 WTC; it's a nod to the lost towers, and pushes forward the notion of *some* tall buildings acting as components on a circuit board, so-to-speak. It's unique, and doesn't try too hard. But it's really not graceful, at least not in the conventional sense.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Michagain

A lot of folks like 'grace' in their architecture, so this design is jarring to that preference. I can understand it. Personally though, I like the 'machinism' of the new 2 WTC; it's a nod to the lost towers, and pushes forward the notion of *some* tall buildings acting as components on a circuit board, so-to-speak. It's unique, and doesn't try too hard. But it's really not graceful, at least not in the conventional sense.

I never saw anything graceful about Foster's design. On the contrary, I thought it was a jarring and sharp, knifelike sculpture in the skyline. But that's something that also fits into the skyline. In fact, I don't find any of the WTC towers, or many of the office towers under construction in NY to be graceful either. Big and bold, yes, but graceful, no.

[TechTalkGuy]

Originally Posted by NYguy

In fact, I don't find any of the WTC towers, or many of the office towers under construction in NY to be graceful either. Big and bold, yes, but graceful, no.

Why no one dares to design a tower as iconic as the majestic Chrysler building is beyond comprehension.
Only Philadelphia was bold enough to emulate the Chrysler with their Liberty Place office towers.

[Michagain]

Originally Posted by NYguy

I never saw anything graceful about Foster's design. On the contrary, I thought it was a jarring and sharp, knifelike sculpture in the skyline. But that's something that also fits into the skyline. In fact, I don't find any of the WTC towers, or many of the office towers under construction in NY to be graceful either. Big and bold, yes, but graceful, no.

I guess that shows how subjective aesthetic taste can be! Foster's design seemed to be a bit conventional to me, which is ok. Maybe the better word is "conservative". The new building is anything but conservative, taste-wise.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by TechTalkGuy

Why no one dares to design a tower as iconic as the majestic Chrysler building is beyond comprehension.
Only Philadelphia was bold enough to emulate the Chrysler with their Liberty Place office towers.

I think the Steinway and Tower Verre are two towers that stand out along those lines.

Originally Posted by Michagain

I guess that shows how subjective aesthetic taste can be! Foster's design seemed to be a bit conventional to me, which is ok. Maybe the better word is "conservative". The new building is anything but conservative, taste-wise.

That's probably a better word, though with the top, Foster's could be said to be unconventional as well.

[NYguy]

Still plenty of fish out there...


http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...GS03/161219996

Optimism reigns as financial sector looks for Manhattan office space


December 12, 2016

Large banks and financial companies including AllianceBernstein and HSBC are browsing the office market for hundreds of thousands of square feet, according to The Wall Street Journal.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset-management firm, just committed to 850,000 square feet at Hudson Yards in one of the year’s biggest deals.

AllianceBernstein leases 600,000 square feet at 1345 Sixth Ave. in a deal that expires in 2024. The company has perused several locations, according to the Journal, including Hudson Yards, 4 Times Square and 1271 Sixth Ave.

“We are certainly looking for a dynamic new collaborative workspace for the future of the firm,” an AllianceBernstein spokesman said.

The activity suggests a turnaround for a sector that once was the city’s most voracious taker of office space but has not been the same since the 2008 downturn. Financial firms had occupied 32% of Manhattan’s office space but have contracted in the past four years and now fill 25% of it.

The searches are a sign of optimism, but also reflect a continuing desire among big tenants to become more efficient with their space. New office buildings, like the Hudson Yards tower where BlackRock will relocate, allow tenants to put more employees into less square footage.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/financia...ace-1481317104

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by NYguy

I think the Steinway and Tower Verre are two towers that stand out along those lines.




That's probably a better word, though with the top, Foster's could be said to be unconventional as well.

I agree. Chrysler is a stunner, but I think Steinway and Tower Verre are also incredible (though very different from each other) and instant icons that are both timeless and modern. They will rival the Chrysler Building. Can't say that about any other towers going up right now in the City, though (or most other places).

[hunser]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

I agree. Chrysler is a stunner, but I think Steinway and Tower Verre are also incredible (though very different from each other) and instant icons that are both timeless and modern. They will rival the Chrysler Building. Can't say that about any other towers going up right now in the City, though (or most other places).

Don't forget about 9 Dekalb in Brooklyn.

[NYguy]

Silverstein still bringin'em in...


http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...d-trade-center

Spotify in talks to move to 4 World Trade Center
$8 billion music-streaming company would become largest private-sector tenant at downtown spire

December 12, 2016

Two sources familiar with the company's decision-making said it was currently focused on taking around 400,000 square feet at 4 World Trade, which opened two years ago and is owned by Silverstein Properties.

If the deal goes through, Spotify would take over most of the 2.3 million-square-foot building's remaining available space and become its largest nongovernment tenant.

[Zerton]

4WTC might be the most elegant of the bunch, especially when you see it in person.

[jayden]

Great news for 4WTC.

I'm assuming BlackRock was NOT the deal Silverstein was referring to as "being in talks" a couple weeks ago?

[NOPA]

Does anybody have an idea how much office space is being lost in the FiDi due to conversion to residential? Pre-war office towers are almost an endangered species.

[NYguy]

http://nypost.com/2016/12/21/pfizer-...rters-complex/

Pfizer is auditioning brokers to sell its headquarters complex

By Lois Weiss
December 21, 2016

...For Pfizer’s current city employees, a local move to the reinvented 390 Madison or soon-to-be 1 Vanderbilt may become the best temptation, so any offers to buy the Pfizer buildings from their developers, L&L and SL Green, respectively, may also come as a package deal with a lease for those properties.

But if Pfizer needs splashier surroundings, it could focus on Hudson Yards and a similar swap-like pact with Related, Moinian or Tishman Speyer, albeit some of the towers won’t be ready in 2019. Silverstein’s new 2 World Trade Center would also have a longer move-in horizon.