Last July, YIMBY obtained construction documents for the future Nordstrom Tower at 217 West 57th Street, and we translated the diagrams into renderings. And now, we have official renderings created by the architect, depicting Midtown (and potentially, the Western Hemisphere’s) future tallest tower.
Extell is the developer, and Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill are designing. Permits for the tower have continued to shift slightly in recent months, but the documents YIMBY previously obtained indicated the building would have a roof height of 1,479 feet and a pinnacle height of 1,775 feet, which would make it the tallest residential tower on the planet. Final figures are likely to be within a hair of both numbers.
Compared to the world’s tallest buildings, 217 West 57th Street would rank fifth if it were built today, standing almost 1,000 feet shorter than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and by 2018 it may not crack the global top ten. But its roof will be substantially taller than both One World Trade Center and Willis Tower. The most recent figures put 217 West 57th’s Spire one foot below the WTC’s 1,776-foot pinnacle.
217 West 57th Street, facade close-up
Despite this, the slight elevation of Midtown compared to the Financial District (a net gain of approximately 70 feet) will mean that 217 West 57th Street’s spire will actually rise approximately 1,850 feet above sea level. While the WTC may retain the title of NYC’s tallest by spire height, 217 West 57th’s relative prominence to most New Yorkers will actually be somewhat greater. This serves as a reminder that New York is not Philadelphia, and any type of gentlemen’s agreement regarding One World Trade Center would undermine the spirit of the city where developers had previously been eager to vie for the title of tallest.
432 Park Avenue passed the WTC’s roof last year, and One Vanderbilt will likely do so in about 2017. 432 Park is currently regarded as somewhat tall relative to its surrounds, but the appearance of new buildings like 217 West 57th and 111 West 57th will quickly even out the disparities in the skyline, as will the rezoning of Midtown East, which may result in Manhattan’s tallest towers yet.
Nordstrom facade
Encouraging mixed-use development is essential for supertalls, and despite common criticisms, most of the new buildings along 57th Street are actually helping the streetscape. One57 is an exception to the bunch, and people seem to forget that even 432 Park Avenue will include two substantial components, one fronting Park Avenue and the other 57th Street, likely opening this year or next.
217 West 57th Street will host a 200,000-square-foot Nordstrom department store, along with offices, a hotel, and condominiums, with a gross total of 1,210,993 square feet.
Penthouse interior/view, 217 West 57th Street/Extell
The exteriors are accompanied by the first penthouse interior, as well as the floorplan for a two-story duplex, which may or may not be the uppermost residence. It will apparently include outdoor terraces, which may very well become the highest outdoor spaces in New York City.
Penthouse floor-plan and spire close-up
A photo by tipster ILNY shows the crane installation now beginning, and the supertall will soon begin rising above street level. 432 Park Avenue was at a similar stage as of October 2012, and layer after of layer of steel and concrete will soon cover the sub-levels of the future Nordstrom Tower, with completion expected by 2018.
217 West 57th Street foundation progress and crane base, photo by ILNY
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Ghastly monument to NYC’s loss of sophistication and taste. The city IS starting to look like Dubai. Not good.
Dubai is da best!
Yes, we’ve stooped into the 3rd world skyscraper contest but just think of the billions we’re going to collect in property tax income from the worlds wealthiest money launderers and embezzlers. We’ll have an unprecedented budget for our libraries, schools and parks! We can finally fix the potholes on the FDR and maybe the MTA can roll back train fare to $1 again! These things are going to be a godsend for the city in a few years when the checks start rolling in..
LOL
Axel… thank you… that was hilarious
we need to stop reaching for the stars on a shaky ladder.
It’s nice to be tallest in the world but in the mean time we have to think about the poorest of the developing world who live in this Country too.
let’s rase the lowest pay to a reasonable pay so we can really stand Tall in the world.
All this building should have Home Depot open 24/7 on 23rd Street so the quiet work can be done around the clock. N.Y.C. Buildings are aging and constantly need rebuilding, repairing and renovations. I love tall Buildings as long as they’re built with quality materials to keep us all safe. Fireproofing is highly important too.
We should have a lot more low-income housing. People who are poor economically deserve a heck of a lot better. After all . . . they’re mostly just Survivors of Frauding and/or Scams unbeknownst to them in one way, shape or form. :,-(
Respectfully, Ms. Victoria Mary Stong / X Ground Zero Volunteer & Community Activist
Wow, this is so great. Manhattan is beginning to look like a big version of lots of other glass condo cities, so now you can feel exactly the same being there, as anywhere. I hope they have Starbucks and Walmart and Best Buy and The Gap and
America needs the old know how roll up your sleaves think big mentality that it used to have and apparently China and Dubai seem to have now… Yo! All you who dont like “shadows” move to death valley or something
“The city is ‘starting to look like Dubai'” What a joke what do you want it to look like Sparta, New Jersey??? Psycho freaks and I cant believe you psychos are running America…You’ll all be standing in line looking for jobs in China ot Dubai (…theres a reason why all the jobs are moving over there…)
This is a truly fantastic building! It is very sophisticated and will be quite a landmark for Manhattan! It is elegant, engaging, and challenging and is everything a skyscraper SHOULD be! I can’t wait for its completion.
Dubai does not have native architects, technicians or laborers, just an entitled, koran indoctrinated, oil rich, aristocracy consisting of 12% of the 2+ million population. Chinese “think big, roll up your sleeves” is based on what is essentially slave labor, e.g. 2011 Beijing construction pay is about $350 per month. The 400+ million Chinese lower class live on subsistence farms and work in the looming shadows of 10 million+ new, empty condos that they cannot afford.
Not saying that China has not done great things, but in 3000 years all Chinese societies have cycled endlessly through warlords, devastating wars, psychotic emperors, rigid social structure, collapse, fragmentation, famine, warlords, mass murder, devastating wars…
Be careful what you wish for! Lacking that look to see where wealthy Chinese oligarchs buy second homes. China will crash and burn on its own merits. Dubai aristocracy will be eaten by its immigrants unless robot service technology advances fast enough.
Please — all of these anti- skyscraper comments. You probably live in those million dollar brownstones and are concerned that a shadow (God forbid) might disrupt your flowers’ growth trajectory…
Just move to Trenton if u don’t like tall buildings in a major city…
If I may; What does the Nordstrom Tower have to do with the price of pay in China ? The world is full of lemmings wishing for things to never change. The look and size of buildings in Manhattan has led the world when the just say no people get outnumbered. ALL housing is affordable. REPEAT : ALL housing is affordable. If the price of a home cannot be paid the result is (shock) LOWER PRICES ! If expensive housing is built and sold it is by definition “affordable”. Anything other than this process is to argue with nature. For all recorded history the following natural law has existed; Rich people live in big fancy houses. Middle-class people live in smaller nice houses. Poor people live in yet smaller homes with less amenities. People Who choose to not make a contribution to the world do not get to live in homes. They have chosen homelessness. In modern times people who cannot make a contribution to the world are given the basic necessities of life and a little more. Throughout history there has been cheating at all levels. The rich cheat. The middle class cheat. The poor cheat. The destitute cheat. Rich people cheat with big dollars. Middle-class people cheat with smaller dollars. Poor people cheat with little dollars. Those who choose not to contribute to the world cheat everyone out of a free living. I do not mean that all people cheat. To the contrary, I believe similar percentages of all income levels are cheaters and similar percentages of all people are honest. It is easy to be the bigmouth complainer about people that possess more money then others. They stand out; they are very visible. My statement is not meant to be an all inclusive argument about our culture . My little statement fits in this box and stands for no more than what it says . Thank You for your thoughtful consideration .
Walther what the hell are you even saying?
Cattin who messed up your head?
What’s wrong with all of you?
New York isn’t simply a city, it’s a zeitgeist. I live in Birmingham, AL, which 100 years ago used to dream big (as in “we could surpass Chicago”). New York is Gotham City. New York is Metropolis. New York is where Spider-Man & Dr. Strange live. New York is as much a place of the imagination as it is a place of business & 9-to-5 drudgery. Those spires of greed & aspiration have always been our nation’s cathedrals, and seeing a new wave rising to respond to Asia & the Middle East is inspiring. Other U.S. cities will begin to follow New York’s example (Atlanta will win easily). I say let the developers build taller & taller. If people can afford the rents & the prices then good for them! As a tourist I celebrate your city’s capacity to reinvent itself every few decades. As an American I celebrate & cherish the Yankee spirit of competition, innovation & exuberance that New York City symbolizes. When every world city from London to Moscow to Beijing to Sydney to Seoul begins to copy you, then you know you’re doing something right.
These buildings on 57th street lack any style or sense of proportion to the city. They also are sold out to foreign investment which brings little to the area in the way of services or business. Finally the PS3 buildings are starting to block sunlight from the streets themselves which was the reason air rights and plateau design was originally introduced to the city in the 20s and 30s. The set back against height made sure light and air moved while limiting the actual extent of the views for everyone. I can see these from my rroof top deck a few blocks west and they are really ugly.
To the comment that people are jealous about the views these people might have are totally missing the point. These buildings are ruining the very thing that they wish to take advantage of I. The first place.. The views. The best part is the new Nordstrom building blocks the views of one 57 which should piss off the rowners of the penthouse there no end. The battle continues and the real losers are the citizens of New York and Central Park. If you don’t live here I suppose your comments are of limited understanding. Born and bred here…. Go Yankees, Knicks and Rangers”