JDS Development and Property Markets Group’s 111 West 57th Street has been making substantial progress since YIMBY last checked in on the site back in August, and the soon-to-be 1,428-foot-tall tiwer continues to climb into the Midtown skyline. Glass curtain wall installation is now clearly visible and climbing on the southern side, and the supertall’s distinct terracotta and copper facade is also making major progress along the eastern face, which can be seen from street level.
111 West 57th Street viewed from Sixth Avenue, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
While the building is starting to make an impact on the skyline when seen from the southern end of Central Park, it has yet to cross above the “Midtown Plateau,” a term sometimes used to describe the visual perspective of Midtown, when seen from afar. The consistent pattern of of building heights from 700 to 800 feet stretches from 42nd Street to 59th Street.
111 West 57th Street, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
With exceptions of the Empire State Building, the Chrysler, and the Bank of America Tower, the new buildings along Central Park South, as well as One Vanderbilt and Hudson Yards, are breaking and re-scaling the skyline to far greater heights. Once complete, likely by 2020, 111 West 57th Street will be one of the tallest residential towers in New York City.
111 West 57th Street, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
The gaps in the reinforced concrete walls, seen on the western and eastern sides, will eventually be encased, and become the windows for the residential units.
When complete, and considering other projects currently in the works, the SHoP Architects-designed skyscraper would be the third tallest in Manhattan and New York City, surpassed only by 217 West 57th Street, One World Trade Center, and 432 Park Avenue in terms of roof parapet height. More notably, it will hold the record for becoming one of the most slender buildings in the world, with a width to height ratio of 1:24.
111 West 57th Street, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
That’s over fifty percent skinnier than 432 Park Avenue, which has a slenderness ratio of 1:15, clocking in at roughly 93 feet wide and 1,396 feet tall.
111 West 57th Street, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
While 111 West 57th Street has encountered a series of legal and financial issues, some of the first units have quietly gone into contract, though no official numbers have been reported just yet. The cheapest condominiums will start at around $15.5 million, while the most expensive will be priced at $58 million on the top floor, with uninterrupted northern and southern views of Midtown and Central Park.
The total projected sellout of the building is estimated around $1.45 billion.
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I’m glad to see glass rising, although narrow but not short by its named in the skyline.
Even at its present height this building looks amazingly slender, at its full height it will be surreal.
Thanks for updating us on this tower! Out of all the new towers going up in NYC, this one is my favorite to watch go up. An engineering marvel in the making.
How many illegal immigrants are employed by contractors?
Haven’t seen any 🙂 you?
All of them.
It’s just too slender! 432 Park Ave. pushed the limits, but this one is borderline bizarre.
Shame on JDS for exploiting illegal immigrants and unskilled workers. The saddest thing is that with union labor being utilized on that project it would have been open by now. A project at 23rd and 7th is now in its 3rd year of construction. Its only 20 floors high mid block. Unions build better, safer, and faster than these developers. I hope the people buying these ridiculously overpriced get what they paid for. Shoddy substandard work. I am friends with a woman who bought an apartment on the LES. Her kitchen cabinets lacked hardware they were held up by Velcro. The outlets were all crooked andsunk behind the drywall. The microwave receptacle was cut in with a hammer. Every drywall joint was visible and the screws were popping out.
Nobody is getting “exploited”. Either the building meets code or it does not. It will not be a matter of risking safety. The people writing all the checks to build this building will decide “who” and “how” the building is built. The style, quality, appearance, eye appeal, and reputation that endures after the construction is complete is totally a choice of the people paying the bill. We little people on the ground are nothing more than the white noise of Monday morning lounge-chair quarterbacks. Voicing our opinions in this blog is no more productive and less pleasurable than other forms of masturbation. (IMHO) ?
I would like to print this article, but do not see how to do it. JK
Anyone whining about illegal aliens working in this building, do not blame it on JDS. JDS is the client, the responsibility lies on the GC. If any of you have time hunting for illegal aliens there, good luck.
That’s what we hired Trump for.