The new 62-story tower set to transform New York City’s skyline
By Issy Ronald, CNN
(CNN) — Everyone knows the familiar shapes that make up New York’s skyline. There’s the Art Deco curved crown of the Chrysler Building, the sweeping isosceles triangles that twist around One World Trade Center, the stepped limestone and granite rectangles of the Empire State Building and the triangular prism of the Flatiron Building.
And now, a multi-billion-dollar tower featuring floor-to-ceiling glass will add another dimension to the cityscape, according to new details unveiled by New York City Mayor Eric Adams this week.
Stretching up 62 stories, a planned office tower at 350 Park Avenue will provide space for more than 6,000 jobs, plus 1.8 million square feet of commercial office space, according to a press release. It will be funded by Vornado Realty Trust, Kenneth Griffin, founder and CEO of global investment firm Citadel, and building and management company Rudin.
White columns will frame a new public concourse at the base of the new building on Park Avenue, complete with green space, seating and art displays, images show.
Above, landscaped terraces will top each section of the glass-clad tower which will house the offices for Citadel and market making firm Citadel Securities.
Adams hailed the project in the release, saying it will help “supercharge our economy and expand New York City’s iconic skyline,” building on “continued efforts to energize Midtown Manhattan as the world’s most important business address and an economic engine for working-class New Yorkers.”
Architects Foster + Partners have designed the building, which will replace the existing 30-story tower currently at the site in Midtown Manhattan just a few blocks away from landmarks like the Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Grand Central Station.
As New York continues to deal with the economic aftershocks wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, Adams and his administration said in their respective statements that they hoped this project would continue the city’s recovery.
“This investment opens a new chapter for Midtown — and closes the book on those who predicted its demise,” said deputy mayor for operations Meera Joshi.
“Midtown’s revitalization is being led by its public realm — including investments in Fifth Avenue, with the crown jewels of Central Park and Bryant Park at either end. Together, with our business improvement district and parks partners, we are reintroducing Fifth Avenue to the world and creating a vibrant live, work, play community for a new era,” Joshi added.
Building this new office space comes at a fraught time for the commercial real estate market as businesses struggle to entice workers back to the office after years of working from home.
This has left vast tranches of office space vacant or underused, causing the value of such buildings to plummet at the same time as historically high interest rates have made it harder for real estate developers — who often take out huge loans to finance projects — to make good on their repayments.
The project will begin the city’s public review process early next year and the tower is expected to be completed by 2032, according to the release.
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CNN’s Anna Cooban contributed to this report.
