Construction has begun on the new superstructure for 1568 Broadway, a 470-foot-tall hotel in Times Square. Designed by PBDW Architects, Mancini Duffy, and Perkins Eastman and developed by L&L Holding Company, Maefield Development, and Fortress Investment Group, the project involved the partial demolition of the former DoubleTree Suites by Hilton to make way for the new 550,000-square-foot tower, which will be dubbed TSX Broadway. The overhaul also includes the raising of Kirchoff & Rose’s 108-year-old Palace Theater by 30 feet to make room for ground-floor retail space. The site is located at the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 47th Street to the east of the red TKTS stairs, and is slated to cost $2.5 billion.
Between our last update on 1568 Broadway in early January and our recent visit to the site in early April, it looks like the demolition and height of the original superstructure has remained the same and is still largely covered behind a web of black netting and scaffolding. This could likely mean that the demolition portion, which began in the first quarter of 2019, is largely complete.
TSX Broadway. Photo by Michael Young
TSX Broadway. Photo by Michael Young
TSX Broadway. Photo by Michael Young
We also noticed parts of the steel-framed base above the sidewalk scaffolding being encased in a new reinforced concrete enclosure, as indicated by the concrete formwork, scaffolding holding up the newly poured floor plates, and steel rebar wrapping around the perimeter of the columns and beams. The rest of this assembly process should take place throughout the rest of the year and ultimately lead to the rise of the new hotel superstructure above.
TSX Broadway. Photo by Michael Young
TSX Broadway. Photo by Michael Young
TSX Broadway. Photo by Michael Young
TSX Broadway. Photo by Michael Young
The construction crane is placed along West 47th Street and sits directly in front of the old brick walls of the Palace Theater.
TSX Broadway. Photo by Michael Young
TSX Broadway is planned to yield 75,000 square feet of retail space with 15,000 square feet on the ground floor alone, and include 100 feet of storefront facing Times Square. The rest will be spread over the next nine levels, with a projected capacity to serve between 10-15 million shoppers and visitors annually. Also part of the design is a 4,000-square-foot performance venue featuring Times Square’s only permanent outdoor stage cantilevering above the sidewalks of Seventh Avenue. This would measure 30 square feet. Broadcast and streaming capabilities are to be hardwired into the infrastructure. Above this will be an 18,000-square-foot LED sign wrapping around the western and northern sides, a smaller 3,000-square-foot LED sign on the southern tower wall, and three 420-square-foot signs on the crown of TSX Broadway. Overall, these new screens will add to the collage of billboards and advertisements that utilize LED technology to make an even brighter Times Square atmosphere.
The 30,000 square feet of food and beverage space will feature a 10,000-square-foot outdoor terrace, the largest of its kind in Times Square, alongside a dedicated entrance and a 90-foot exterior sign. The hotel portion and its 669 rooms will all have direct views of Times Square through floor-to-ceiling glass and come with 30 “Ball Drop” suites for the annual New Year’s Eve celebration. TSX Broadway is also planned to accommodate the most double queen rooms in Times Square. Hotel amenities include a sky lobby with an outdoor terrace, a bar, and lounge.
Finally, the Palace Theater is undergoing a $50 million renovation that calls for the refurbishment of its ornate plaster, adding 10,000 square feet to the back-of-house space, a brand-new lobby with a bar and box office, the installation of chandeliers in their original positions, doubling the number of restrooms, installing 1,657 new seats, a new marquee and grand entrance, and improving the acoustics of the preserved interior theater space. The lifting process is reportedly planned to occur sometime this spring, although an exact date is unclear.
YIMBY last announced that 1568 Broadway would finish sometime in 2022.
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The craziness of this whole project still gets me everytime. But, it’ll still be one heck of an attraction that I think will super cool. I mean, it better be, because it’ll cost $2.5 bIllion, if not, more.
Yes, there is a wacky optimism from another era about this that makes you smile..I mean raising the theater 30 feet for retail..I hope it works..
Does “hope it works” allude to a) the realized concept being successful or b) technically feasible? With regard to (a), right now the access and circulation space for the theater is a good deal less than optimal. The facility will benefit substantially from the improvements in these respects. Vendors might well lease the retail space solely for its prestigious location. This is by no means unusual.
As to (b), the business of moving whole buildings vertically and horizontally is technologically well established and is occurring somewhere most days. To quote a seasoned mover, it has to be undertaken so that the building is not even aware it’s happening.
Is it possible that the city will require them to tone down the signage as it’s incredibly inappropriate, even in Times Sq?
A project of almost mind-boggling complexity made more so by being in a hemmed-in location. In general, passers by will have little concept of the intellectual horsepower required for the design, planning and implementation of such a venture.
Bridgeman: You comments are spot on, but is that a justification for hideous signage, or, were you just stating a fact that all buildings in the city are complicated to see through completion, and the juggling of all of these elements without visibility is a major fact of this project?