Excavation and piling work is progressing at 3 West 29th Street in NoMad, site of a 34-story office skyscraper from Bjarke Ingels Group. Developed by HFZ Capital Group, the tower will stand 551 feet tall, making it one of the tallest structures in Midtown south of the Empire State Building. The project, which was formerly known as 29th & 5th, is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and will yield nearly 300,000 square feet. Pavarini McGovern, LLC is the general contractor for the development.
Recent photos show that a large amount of dirt has been removed from the southern end of the property since our last update back in mid-March. Excavators are making their way deeper below street level, exposing the eastern and western perimeter foundation walls of the abutting neighbors.
3 West 29th Street. Photo by Michael Young
3 West 29th Street. Photo by Michael Young
The property is aligned almost directly with the centerline of the Empire State Building, though their disparity in height should leave views of the landmark from vantage points in Lower Manhattan mostly undisturbed.
Looking up at the Empire State Building from the site of 3 West 29th Street. Photo by Michael Young
Not much is known about the insides of the structure, but it will undoubtedly offer tenants panoramic views of Lower Manhattan and the NoMad neighborhood, as well as the Empire State Building three blocks to the north. The relatively isolated positioning of the project will give it full sun exposure virtually all year round.
YIMBY last reported that 3 West 29th Street is expected to be completed in the spring of 2023.
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Ugh. You say this monstrosity shouldn’t obstruct one of the main views of the Empire State Building? Come on. Like that is true. And even if it doesn’t obstruct the Empire State Building it’s still going to seen all over the city. And the design is HORRIBLE! HFZ Capital Group and Bjarke Ingles Group, you have created an absolute disgrace to Manhattan and NYC. I don’t think anyone will want to work at your building anyways.
By the way YIMBY, I do still like you. ☺
Blocks the view of the ESB from most of 5th Ave. south of 29th Street to Washington Square. This Building is an eyesore and an example of pure real estate greed at it’s worst.
I don’t think the building is exactly a monstrosity, as per Thomas, but it doesn’t fit there at all and will stick out like a sore thumb. The symmetry of the skyline will suffer.
There are parts of the 40s and 50s and possibly downtown where there are worse boxes and it would blend into the landscape of skyscrapers a lot better than pencil-thin residentials. Not 29th and 5th. Maybe 6th, with all the humungous residentials now there.
Look demand is extremely weak for office space currently .
Wake up call to ever these investors are. Whoever put up the financing will be in trouble . Majority of companies will not have the same demand fir office space for many years to come.
Rendering here looks more like a 134 story building than 34 floors..
More like 50 stories. The have been working steadily on the foundation for over a year.
Do they have the financing in place to finish this? Also is that the current rendering? Tower 31, the checked building just to the left, is 42 stories and about 500 feet, so the scale doesn’t match.
Not sure if the rendering reflects that actual height, but this building looks like a big middle finger pointed at the iconic Empire State Building, and a big FU to New York. I hope this building has financing issues and never gets built!
Agree. I’m 72 y/o. The ongoing destruction of the skyline’s symmetry is a consequence of “progress” in the American tradition. Indeed, it was not until 1916 with the opening of the 40-story Equitable building that the City enacted the first in the nation skyscraper setback zoning ordinance, which was fought as an unconstitutional taking of private property without compensation. When the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court held that the City had the right under a municipality’s police power to enact ordinances providing for adequate natural light as a public health measure.
bribe the right people and all city laws will be over looked , it all about how deep your pocket is, some backing this to are not banks, if you get my drift…
“Architect”… how about if we shove a giant 34 story I-beam in the middle of the site blocking the views of the Empire State Building, and call it a day?” ?
Obviously, he was “mentored” by
Gene Kaufman?!
Ugh !! Manhattan has officially surpassed the tipping point in which horrific, cold, bland buildings now dominate the skyline. Architects constantly complain about BIM automation diminishing their role in the design process – It looks like we are seeing the simplistic design results. It’s time for the city to impose some minimal aesthetic requirement on developers, because they surely aren’t motivated to produce quality structures, when left to their own devices.
Sadly, the ESB’s days of splendid isolation are over. The Depression caused its midtown location to remain unattractive for continued tall building developments, but that has now changed 80+ years later. The Chrysler will be blocked pretty soon too. And in lower Manhattan, the elegant towers of the ’30’s are barely visible anymore.
To the architect:
Are people going to feel inspired (or even okay..) looking at your building?
Are you taking away or giving back?
To Roy Warner: I doubt the current Supreme Court would vote in favor of allowing natural light for public health.
BIG has the capacity and has proven to do inventive interesting buildings. This is disappointing bc of its prominent location and can’t be written off as a filler, forgettable bland building as many other new buildings are. A missed opportunity for something beautiful in a great location.
Being a true native New Yorker. I’m still so proud of my City. At this new building, an eye sore. Only because it takes away the true skyline view from the roof, of growing up in Lower East side.
Brutal
How did this get approved???
Construction is on hold. There has been now work for 3 weeks now. Given HFZ money problems it will be years before construction resumes.
The site remains dormant; it is filling up with stagnant water. I would be very interested in an update on the status of the project. Maybe they couldn’t renew their construction financing? I’d be interested in any insight.