Demolition is progressing toward street level on the Hotel Pennsylvania, which is being razed to make way for PENN15, a 1,200-foot commercial supertall at 15 Penn Plaza in Midtown, Manhattan. Designed by Foster + Partners and developed by Vornado Realty Trust, the 56-story skyscraper will yield 2.7 million square feet of office space and will stand as the centerpiece of the massive 7.4-million-square-foot Penn District master plan. Northstar Contracting Group is the demolition contractor for the Hotel Pennsylvania, which is located along Seventh Avenue between West 32nd and 33rd Streets.
All the hotel floors above the 104-year-old building’s stone-clad base have been dismantled since our last update in late March. Crews have also torn down the columns that adorned the main entrance along Seventh Avenue, and the final four stories should soon follow suit. Black netting and scaffolding cover the remaining portions of the structure, along with the still-operating LED video boards.
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
A new perspective of the Empire State Building has emerged in the absence of the building’s upper levels.
Photo by Michael Young
Work is also progressing across Seventh Avenue on the modernization of Two Penn Plaza, aka PENN2, by MdeAS Architects, Vornado, Turner Construction Company, and Skanska. The underside of the cantilevering addition has been testing out its LED panels with a bright, colorful array of moving patterns.
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
PENN15’s office space will feature ceiling heights ranging from 17 to 19 feet tall and will be divided into six tiers: levels three through 11 will total 585,000 square feet; floors 12 through 24 will yield 640,000 square feet; floors 25 through 37 will hold 660,000 square feet; floors 38 to 50 will span 505,000 square feet; and floors 51 through 56 will yield 250,500 square feet. Two mechanical levels top the structure within its crown. Six tenant amenity floors with ceilings up to 27 feet are positioned on the seventh, 12th, 25th, 38th, 51st, and 56th floors. The building will also have 37 private landscaped terraces totaling 80,000 square feet, as well as retail space on the lower floors.
No construction timeline has been disclosed for PENN15.
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
I figure Hotel Pennsylvania didn’t really have much of a future. But, it’s still a tragic shame to see it go.
yes where will all those rats find a place now?
They’ve been teasing us for years; I can’t weight for them to erect PENN15
Damnit you beat me to it.
They’re just edging us on here…
Isn’t it past your bedtimes, children?
Weight?
It’s so funny but 53% of office space in NYC is empty . They are now building more . Lol . Build middke in one rental units. It’s a no brainer.
The office vacancy rate in NYC is like 15%. Nowhere near 53%. And trophy-level office space is nearly 100% leased. Of course they’re building more, as trophy office space now commands nearly $200 psf.
This is correct. New, state-of-the-art, energy-efficient office space IS in demand. And always has been.
Why does anyone think 2.7 million sf of office space is even a remotely good idea!?! This is never going to happen, in this form – guaranteed.
most hope so!
Office space for WHOM? There is no reason for this. I’d understand if this new construction was intended as affordable housing (which the old hotel could have less expensively been converted to), but few people work from offices any more. And the area is so abominable that no one working in an office will want to take on the problems of exiting and entering the nearby subway stations. And besides, we don’t need more damn glass eyesores. DESIGN SOMETHING!
“few people work from offices any more.”: Not true (though San Francisco may be close, with the way the pols there let their once-beautiful city be wrecked).
What the hell are talking about?
The only good thing is the temporary view of the ESB. The erection of a new glass phallus will do little to improve things as it was designed before the great office exodus.. The whole thing really needs to be rethought to better utilize the space.
Erect Penni5.
The market is soft.
Oh good gawd, LED ceiling panels! It’s the current fad that’s already tired and doesn’t make this dull rebuild anymore interesting.
Will there be an underground tunnel connection with the proposed new tower so suburban commuters won’t be offended by the people on the street?
That’s 2 Penn.
This is why I don’t and will never respond to your annoying self again. Maybe you’re just stoned later in the day.
They really need to rethink that name
A rose is a rose by any other name. So is a load of x.
It’s so hard to erect a solid building these days, with the right girth and height. It needs to satisfy so many people, one after another, with no recovery time. And just think of all the blowing it has to endure, with the winds here. Getting drenched day after day, with the constant vibrations underneath. Some day, it just won’t be able to hold back any longer..
Love it!
You really worked hard on that.
Welcome to the second mistake the old Penn station gone and now Hotel Pennsylvania. Next all looks generic so sad happening to our NYC.
We’ll survive.
Survive, sure. Doesn’t mean it’s ideal.
It looks like Downtown Houston or any other gentrified city
I hate Vornado. They should have kept Hotel Pennsylvania and converted it to apartments.
They really are a bane to the city.
More like a bone heh
Good God, NYC has learned nothing in the past 60 years. If Penn station hadn’t been destroyed in 63 the Landmarks Preservation Commission would sign off on its destruction today. We lose the Hotel Pennsylvania and maybe get an ugly Pen15 tower, while 2 Penn gets even uglier which I wouldn’t have thought possible. No one is thinking beyond the short term.
Advice to the realty company advertising the property. Better make sure a good choice is made regarding the fonts used. Penn15 is sure going to get second glances.
I an so conflicted. I have no objections to a supertall being built in midtown. Considering the existing intensity of land use and the amazing and adjacent transportation infrastructure, it makes sense someone would want to redevelop here. However, Hotel Pennsylvania was a real edifice; I wish I had paid more attention to the business case and why adaptive reuse for residential was not pursued.
They should have dynamite to take down the building for real then build the new building it open in 2024 or 2025 but no they did it the hard way by using machine to knock down the building for real now they going to build the new building in 2024 and open the new building in 2026 or 2027 for real!
Well, looks like “someone will be movin’ on up to that big file drawer in the sky”?! 🎶🤣
I dubb thee the “Tower of Drawers”. 🤗
Buildings can become obsolete. The Hotel Pennsylvania did not meet modern expectations as to room size and had plumbing problems. Originally, it had a glorious two-story Roman atrium lobby and lots of potted palms and a “skylight” to give an outdoorsy feeling. The upper level of the atrium was eliminated for more space on the second floor. There was a nice ballroom, but do people still attend balls in this era? The railroad runs through the cellar.
I believe the adjoining Manhattan Mall (Gimbel’s) is owned by the same party as the hotel. Building a whole block complex in Midtown Manhattan would seem like a developer’s dream.
This building looks like a giant hydroponic kale farm—then pan over to ESB. Good grief. Maybe they’ll lop off 200-300 feet!
New MSG.
Have they awarded a general contractor for this project?
Headline today! from City and State
A big change in the plans to renovate Penn Station
The new plan to renovate the Manhattan train hub will no longer include funding from surrounding office towers, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.
This is the most important comment on this whole goofy thread, but most people won’t see it! It’s _not_ gonna happen!
Beautiful light emitted against the sky, with quite a lot of clouds. Even so, the demolition was still going on, which I could see as it worked. Structure started leveling to the ground for the new massive supertall, so attracting the big city was expected to neighbor with the Empire State Building: Thanks to Michael Young.
Is there any evidence that PENN 15 will actually be built any time soon following the completion of the demolition work, or will this actually just be a vacant lot for a decade or more?
In the interim, what will they do with the vacant lot? Being right next to Penn Station, I’d assume it’s highly valuable for both advertising and “pop up” type uses… food vendors or something? “Gitano” probably makes a killing on their outdoor club/restaurant on Canal that’s on a big lot owned by Trinity Church that will be developed at some point.
This hideous monstrosity will never be built, say yours prayers it doesn’t lol