Demolition is finishing up at 540 Third Avenue, the site of a 22-story residential building in Murray Hill, Manhattan. Designed by Ismael Leyva Architects and developed by Robert Gilardian of Gilar Realty, the 235-foot-tall structure will span roughly 109,000 square feet and yield 160 rental units with an average scope of 625 square feet, as well as 3,747 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a cellar level. Third Avenue Pavilions Residences is listed as the owner and Celtic Services NYC Inc. is the demolition contractor for the property, which is alternately addressed as 162 East 36th Street and located at the corner of Third Avenue and East 36th Street.
Recent photographs show demolition nearing street level with only portions of the ground floor of the former five-story corner structure still standing. Mounds of debris sit across the site around the remnants of the old building’s steel superstructure, which should be fully razed within the coming weeks.
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
The below Google Street View image shows the former low-rise occupants of the property before their demolition.
540 3rd Avenue via Google Maps
No finalized renderings have been released for the project apart from the following zoning diagrams filed with permits in late 2022. These illustrations show the structure rising with an L-shaped massing to a setback on the 16th floor, which will be topped with terraces. The building then continues to a flat parapet with additional terrace space on the 21st floor, and culminates with a short mechanical bulkhead. A rear outdoor courtyard is located on the western corner of the lot.
Zoning diagrams via NYC BOD.
Zoning diagrams via NYC BOD.
The nearest subways from the property are the 6 train at the 33rd Street Station to the west and the 4, 5, 6, 7, Shuttle, Metro-North, and Long Island Rail Road trains at Grand Central Terminal to the north.
Demolition is slated to wrap up in May, as noted on site. A construction timeline for the new building has yet to be announced.
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Always happy to see new housing being built. However based on ILA’s history, this will be all glass façade, not much to look at.
Nice move! Get rid of all of those outdated and decrepit buildings. New York should be beautiful, modern, and green. Great step.
A setback on the 16th floor and then continues to a flat parapet, with additional terrace space on the 21st floor. This helps increase dimension of the sharp corners: Thanks.