NEW YORK | One Vanderbilt | 1,401 FT | 58 FLOORS

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by King DenCity

so i would say we need a new diagram... but this still probably isn't the final design.

Likely not, especially with what we're hearing about the TD Bank proposal. That's basically the same iteration of the tower since it was first proposed.

Looking back on it now, its almost funny how so many people thought De Blasio would kill development in the city.



http://www.nydailynews.com/life-styl...icle-1.1811240

New Grand Central office tower can move ahead under mayor's rezoning proposal
A larger rezoning has been put on ice until 2015


May 30, 2014

One of the city's biggest landlords may move ahead with plans to build a giant 65-story office tower near Grand Central Terminal, thanks to a new proposal by the de Blasio administration.

Under the new proposal, landlord SL Green could forge ahead with a 1,200-foot tower called One Vanderbilt, at Vanderbilt Avenue and East 42nd Street. SL Green is likely to apply for a permit to build the tower immediately, which it would receive in return for delivering subway improvements.

The City Council and the City Planning Commission also must sign off on the tower.

The administration's proposal, which would allow taller high-rises on a five-block stretch surrounding Grand Central, breathes life back into a plan laid out by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The former mayor withdrew a proposal to rezone a larger swath of Midtown East citing lack of support in the City Council last year.

The new rezoned area would stretch from East 42nd Street to East 47th Street on Vanderbilt Avenue, a far cry from the massive chunk of Midtown East that Bloomberg wanted to tackle.

The de Blasio administration is putting the larger rezoning on ice until 2015 in order to consult with stakeholders such as community boards, local businesses and the city's Department of Planning. City Council member Daniel Garodnick and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will head up that effort.

Garodnick was one of several community leaders who opposed Bloomberg's plans for a larger rezoning of Midtown East last year, saying the former mayor's efforts had been rushed.

"This plan now puts the right emphasis on upfront infrastructure improvements, and guarantees that there is public review of the projects most likely to move forward early," Garodnick said of the new proposal.

TD Bank is reportedly in talks to move into the new tower once it's completed.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-0...ning-plan.html

SL Green Grand Central Tower to Advance After Zoning Plan


By David M. Levitt
May 30, 2014

SL Green will probably be the first applicant for a special zoning permit in the area, and its plans for the 1,200-foot (370-meter) tower should be under public review in the last three months of the year, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said today in a statement. The rezoning of a five-block area mostly along Vanderbilt Avenue is part of a “two-track” strategy to rezone the eastern portion of midtown Manhattan, he said.

De Blasio last year promised to revisit former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to rezone 73 blocks of east Midtown for taller buildings. The city council blocked the measure last year on concerns that plans to upgrade the area’s transportation and relieve pressure on crowded sidewalks were inadequate, and that provisions to sell air rights were mispriced.

De Blasio said today that “ground-up planning” will “lay the groundwork to keep districts like east Midtown thriving and attracting new businesses for decades to come.”

The plan would turn the block between East 42nd and 43rd streets into a pedestrian mall. SL Green’s One Vanderbilt tower -- on a side street just west of Grand Central -- would include a public room at street level that would serve as a western extension of the terminal, with its own train board, Jeremy Soffin, an SL Green spokesman, said in a phone interview.

“We will be moving forward with our plans for One Vanderbilt, a new world-class office tower that is already attracting attention from major tenants desiring modern space in the heart of Midtown,” SL Green Chief Executive Officer Marc Holliday said in the mayor’s statement.

Canada’s Toronto-Dominion Bank, whose TD Bank division has several New York branches, is in negotiations to be the anchor tenant at the tower, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 22. Soffin said SL Green, New York’s biggest office landlord, had no comment on those discussions.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...29E0573989C37#

De Blasio resets the clock on massive rezoning
The rezoning of a huge swath of midtown won't begin in earnest until 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday. But at least one major developer will get a head start.


Andrew J. Hawkins
May 30, 2014

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new timeline for the rezoning of a large swath of east midtown in Manhattan Friday, one that could stretch into 2016 but will allow for one major skyscraper project to get started in the meantime.

Under a special permit to be issued by the city and subject to public review, SL Green will build a 1.6 million-square-foot office building adjacent to Grand Central Terminal on Vanderbilt Avenue between East 42nd and East 43rd streets. The 65-story tower will be 150 feet taller than the Chrysler Building on the other side of the train station.

The project, called 1 Vanderbilt, will include indoor and outdoor public space, as well as underground connections to the subway to help relieve above-ground congestion. The public review process for the surrounding five blocks along Vanderbilt Avenue will begin this fall.

SL Green will invest more than $100 million to improve the flow of commuter traffic through Grand Central Terminal, said Marc Holliday, CEO of the development firm. But City Planning Commission Chairman Carl Weisbrod said the developer's investment in transit infrastructure will be "a lot more than $100 million," and other private firms looking to reap benefits from the rezoning will need to pony up as well.

"These buildings cannot be occupied until these improvements are online," Mr. Weisbrod told Crain's. "So if inflation goes wild, if construction costs multiply, if problems are found, whatever, that's not our risk, that's not the public's risk. That's the developer's risk."

Mr. Weisbrod confirmed two other development sites as part of the initial Vanderbilt corridor rezoning: a property on Madison Avenue owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the Roosevelt Hotel on East 45th Street.

I've also changed the thread title to 1,200 ft until we hear something different.

It looks like there will be a slightly larger FAR from the original plan of 24...



http://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/n...the-works.html

In a statement, SL Green CEO Marc Holliday said the plan "welcomes density where it belongs."

The rules would generally allow for density of up to 30 square feet of office space per square foot of real estate, while requiring applicants to pay for improvements inside Grand Central and the surrounding network of crowded streets and pedestrian pathways.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/about/pr053014.shtml

The proposal for this five-block area recognizes that there are development sites along Vanderbilt Avenue that can provide new modern commercial space, while also enhancing the area’s public open space and subway infrastructure. These two objectives have broad support and will help to maintain and strengthen the business district.

The Department of City Planning (DCP) is proposing a new zoning special permit for sites along Vanderbilt, to create a public review process for larger modern buildings with a maximum density of 30 FAR, while requiring the property owners to make major improvements to the transit network as well as create new public spaces in the area. The new special permit, called the Grand Central Public Realm Improvement Bonus, would mandate that public improvements be delivered as part of the construction of each new building.

This initiative will help spur private commercial investment and improve pedestrian circulation at and around the Grand Central subway station, which is one of the busiest in the entire subway system with nearly a half million daily users. In order to qualify for the maximum allowable floor area, benefited property owners will be required to undertake improvements to the Grand Central subway station that help alleviate platform overcrowding on the Lexington Avenue line (4, 5, and 6), allowing trains to depart on schedule and eliminating system wide back-ups, as well as other enhancements above and below grade. Both the City’s proposal for a new special permit and any buildings seeking the new special permit will undergo full public review as part of the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).

[Onn]

Wow, sounds like this one is taking off quickly. That must mean TD Bank wants to gets into its new digs as soon as possible. Not really complaining though, this location is incredible. This is a good tower to anchor the Midtown East Redevelopment.

[a very long weekend]

man, mta and roosevelt hotel too, that's just rapacious. so sad. new yorkers will regret it. saw in curbed that the bancroft building is currently being demolished too. such a bummer.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by a very long weekend

man, mta and roosevelt hotel too, that's just rapacious. so sad. new yorkers will regret it. saw in curbed that the bancroft building is currently being demolished too. such a bummer.

New Yorkers won't regret it. Anybody who will be around when these towers are built won't really care about the loss of anything old. Everything worth landmarking already is. And there is the whole of Midtown and the rest of Manhattan that will exists anyway.



http://www.wnyc.org/story/towering-o...sler-building/

Currently developers along Vanderbilt Avenue in east midtown are permitted to build up to a 15-floor area ratio (FAR), meaning the buildings could have 15 times the square footage of their zoning lot.

Under the new process, developers could be permitted to build up to 30 FAR, 30 times the square footage of their zoning lot. That could result in a buildings along Vanderbilt Avenue in east midtown that are taller than the Chrysler Building.

Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer and council member Dan Garodnick (Council District 4) will launch the new community planning effort that will oversee the special permit process.

"We're not afraid of big buildings in New York, we just want to make sure that they're built responsibly," said council member Garodnick.

http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-ma...-strategy-east

A proposed amendment to the City Map would change the designation of the block of Vanderbilt Avenue between East 42nd and East 43rd Streets to facilitate its transformation into a world-class pedestrian public space. This ‘public place’ designation would allow for the permanent improvement of this approximately 12,000 square foot area into a public space that would provide significant benefits to workers and visitors of the surrounding area while helping support future growth.

SL Green, a private developer that owns a site across from Grand Central Terminal, is expected to apply for the new special permit concurrently with the City’s proposal. The proposed SL Green project would facilitate development of a 1.6 million square foot office building with new indoor and outdoor public space adjacent to the Terminal, including improvements to the new public place along Vanderbilt Avenue.

The Vanderbilt Corridor initiative also includes greater options for the transfer of unused landmark development rights in the Grand Central Subdistrict, as well as special permit review for hotels to ensure that they provide amenities and services that complement the area’s status as a premier business district.

[sbarn]

Originally Posted by a very long weekend

man, mta and roosevelt hotel too, that's just rapacious. so sad. new yorkers will regret it. saw in curbed that the bancroft building is currently being demolished too. such a bummer.

Bancroft is a damn shame. Some of these others I will miss less. This proposal will tower over Midtown, which is awesome. I just worry that Gale Brewer will have it downsized.

[tyleraf]

It's exciting to hear that this is moving forward.

[a very long weekend]

Originally Posted by NYguy

New Yorkers won't regret it. Anybody who will be around when these towers are built won't really care about the loss of anything old.

visit hong Kong or any Chinese city. that's not to be hyperbolic, it's just to say that losing these touchstone buildings in the core of the city does something to the fabric and feel of the place, there's no question. it's like tossing away a birthright. and it's not as if this is restriction either, this is re-zoning, like, there are tens of thousands of uninteresting mid-rise blocks around midtown but then you go and take down like the roosevelt hotel. just seems nuts.

and I know that it's not the case with 1 Vanderbilt here but the podium point towers that are going up these days with their set backs at 40 feet at just killing the midtown street wall. the zoning envelope needs to be altered to prevent such moves while it's still early days. again, visit hong Kong/China if you want to see how bad it can get.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by sbarn

I just worry that Gale Brewer will have it downsized.

Gale Brewer won't be able to downsize it. She will be working to get the rest of the rezoning passed along with extra improvements to the district, which was a primary concern for those against it. But as near as I can tell, De Blasio will be a little more generous with the FAR and buildable sites.

Originally Posted by a very long weekend

visit hong Kong or any Chinese city. that's not to be hyperbolic, it's just to say that losing these touchstone buildings in the core of the city does something to the fabric and feel of the place,

I really don't give a crap about those cities. I'm speaking from the New York perspective, about New York. We are losing nothing with the vastly few buildings that will be touched. I seem to be repeating this a lot, New York is not a museum. And the people who are in charge are smart enough to know that you don't let the city's top business district die because some people want to keep it "quaint".



About the design of this tower, if they are going to have a spire, hopefully we get a more extended one. Where BofA is a building that may have a spire that's too big, this one could be the opposite. But we'll see how it plays out.


http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...sive-rezoning#

[tyleraf]

The tower looks nice in that latest render. Hopefully with the spire it hits 1400. I look forward to watching this rise.

[Busy Bee]

The entire top looks like its dying to telescope upward but is being held down. This design really does nothing for me, I really hope what gets built will be totally different.

[Blaze23]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

The entire top looks like its dying to telescope upward but is being held down. This design really does nothing for me, I really hope what gets built will be totally different.

Totally agree. Seems like they just recycled their design of BOA and 30 HY. But to be honest I'd still be happy to see it rise, this part of midtown east desperately needs a upgrade and as boring is this tower is, it is an upgrade compared to what's there right now. Besides it might not last as the tallest tower in the area ( or the whole block) for that long.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by NYguy

We are losing nothing with the vastly few buildings that will be touched. I seem to be repeating this a lot, New York is not a museum. And the people who are in charge are smart enough to know that you don't let the city's top business district die because some people want to keep it "quaint".

You rather sound right, but from an outsider point of view, the area needs to be carefully studied to determine how exactly right you are... Besides, fierce NIMBYism sometimes brings about opportunities to enlarge your so-called "top business district". That's what we're experiencing in my crazy NIMBY museum city, as our inner burbs are getting wealthier and wealthier and more and more attractive from the central city NIMBYism.

However, I think we'd definitely still get some greater quality projects within the central city without blind NIMBYism, and enlarging the (yet pretty large) core is costly in public transportation infrastructures. I don't know. You've got to deal with what your city is anyway. But Paris's long experience shows that NIMBYs can't kill a legendary city.

I rather like your point, however. Manhattan's registered building stock is probably big enough.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

The entire top looks like its dying to telescope upward but is being held down. This design really does nothing for me, I really hope what gets built will be totally different.

The building as depicted in the render isn't' anything special. I do like that the tower tapers, I hope they keep that element of the design.

Originally Posted by mousquet

You rather sound right, but from an outsider point of view, the area needs to be carefully studied to determine how exactly right you are.

The only thing they are going to study is the impact of more office workers on the transportation network, the sidewalks, etc. - which is really nothing that needs to be studied. More space means more people. What you are suggesting needs to be studied is a non-issue because Manhattan and midtown east is not just a few blocks of buildings. They could build a hundred new skyscrapers on the eastside, and it wouldn't dramatically alter the perception of the city from street level because the majority of it will exists as is. And that will happen for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is because most sites aren't and won't be eligible for building on anyway. There will be a relative handful of sites where new building would happen.



http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2014/0...ntral-station/

Stephen Green’s SL Green Realty Planning New 1,200 Feet High Office Tower Next to Grand Central Station


__


Alan Gallindoss

As New York continues to recover from recession and move even into a growth phase new construction has been sprouting up all over the place, both commercial and residential. Commerical rents appear to be justifying new construction for the first time in a long time as well.

As a confined city such as New York grows the only ways to grow are through higher densities and these have been coming in several parts of the city.

Yesterday the Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio set out a new schedule for rezoning a large section of the East Side of Manhattan as well, basically pushing it all out into 2016.

This side of town was almost included in the last phase of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s expansion plans, only to be pulled just before the handover to the new administration.

Now de Blasio is bringing these ideas forward again, though to be sure with some deferral in order to give time for the the downtown core, including World Trade Center itself, to complete its renewal and for the massive Hudson Yards project on the Far West Side to become established as well.

So now the Far East Side will be next, except for one important project that de Blasio is giving the green light for on an immediate basis. Manhattan’s largest office developer, Stephen Green’s SL Green Realty, is planning a brand new 1.6 million-square-foot office building located between East 42nd and East 43rd streets, directly adjacent to Grand Central Terminal, one Vanderbilt Avenue. At 1,200 feet high the new 65 storey building will be 150 feet higher than the Chrysler Building on the other side of the railway terminal.

The project will be called 1 Vanderbilt, and will include number of public spaces, plus its own underground connection to the subway system to keep everybody moving smoothly. A public review process for the surrounding five blocks along Vanderbilt Avenue will begin this fall.

SL Green is New York’s largest commercial office landlord and the only fully integrated, self-managed, self-administered, publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), primarily focused on owning and operating office buildings in Manhattan.

The company has interests in 89 Manhattan properties totalling over 42 million square feet, including ownership interests in properties with almost 24 million square feet of commercial space and debt and preferred equity investments secured by properties with another almost 15 million square feet of space.

In addition SL Green holds ownership interests in properties totalling over 5 million square feet in New York’s surrounding suburban areas, and has ownership interests in 28 properties totalling 3.7 million square feet in southern California.

[nyc15]

unfortunately we lose another 400m tower ,after the hudson yards north tower
i wish that in the future for One Vanderbilt height will grow to 1500 ft

[Tectonic]

The tapering design is cool, the top portion makes the building look ugly. Especially with the Chrysler building as a neighbor.

[Dac150]

Kudos to SL Green - they clearly have their act together to get this project fast tracked. If my memory serves me correctly, TD already has a fairly big branch located within the building which currently occupies the site.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Dac150

Kudos to SL Green - they clearly have their act together to get this project fast tracked. If my memory serves me correctly, TD already has a fairly big branch located within the building which currently occupies the site.

Your memory is correct.



June 1, 2014

[Stained]

I am not a fan of that design. I think something neat could be done similar to that top, but those renders are not it. Hopefully the final building will live up to the location and give us the truly iconic design that we were lead to believe we should expect.

[TechTalkGuy]

I respect your opinions on this design, but I like it!

[ATLksuGUY]

Originally Posted by TechTalkGuy

I respect your opinions on this design, but I like it!

I absolutely agree. I also agree with one of the above posts that said the top should be stretched. I like the design and think it is actually somewhat unique, while trying to maximize its footprint. It would look better if the crown was stretched. Just my humble opinion. Great tower either way.